


Where Feathers Fall

by fenmiu, TiBun



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Bottom Sebastian, Collaboration, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Lemon, M/M, Mpreg, Romance, Top Claude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-30
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-24 14:48:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 39
Words: 192,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/941251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fenmiu/pseuds/fenmiu, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian holds a deadly secret about himself; one he hopes his young master would never find out. But it is growing harder to keep as time passes without the completion of their contract. Especially when it nearly gets him killed when he crosses paths with a reaper. But in the moment when he is saved, his secret becomes known by his rival and savior; Claude Faustus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! There's just a few things you all should know before you start reading this. First off; This is based off my Role Play with my amazing partner kohakuaru (His DA name) who played as Claude. I Played the part of Sebastian and the other characters go back and forth between us as needed.  
> (Edit: He now has an AO3 account so I've added him on as the cowriter as he deserves.)
> 
> Furthermore; This fanfic is a slight AU. We changed the ending of the second season for it. Basically, Claude did consume Alois' soul at the end. Also, there will be characters from the musical (Eric and Alan) But in this AU the musical didn't happen. Eric Alan and Sebastian never really met.  
> Disclaimer: We do not own any recognizable characters; only explore the possibilities.
> 
> NEW! Doujin based off our fanfic:  
> http://sherly97.deviantart.com/gallery/49266940

****

_Cover Art by[Keiichou](http://keiichou.deviantart.com/)_

Sebastian gasped, stumbling over and leaning heavily against a nearby wall, the parcels he had been carrying falling to the cobblestone around his feet as he instinctively let them go, clutching at his stomach which churned and twisted with pain. A feeling of nausea sweeping over him and making his ruby eyes water as he held in the feeling.

It was happening more often with each passing week…a none-too-settle reminder that he needed to hurry and grant his master's wish for revenge and collect his soul. A task that was proving to be taking too long. He had made the contract with the boy because children often had petty wishes that were easy to grant. But with Ciel Phantomhive, it was not the case. Every time they'd get a lead; it turned out that it was only a small part of Ciel's revenge. If things kept going the way they were; then he would have to break his own rule of only taking souls he contracted with.

He would have to steal a soul.

The idea made the demon cringe. Panting, he looked around the darkening streets, looking for someone traveling alone…someone who wouldn't be missed right away. He wouldn't take their soul; not yet. He wasn't that desperate, but blood…blood sometimes eased the pain enough for him to continue serving his master normally for a few days…depending on how touched by sin the person was.

Finally spotting his prey; a young woman who seemed not yet in her twenties, he gathered his strength and approached her as if everything was normal. He flashed her a smile, hoping it didn't look pained, and offered to carry her basket of flowers for her.

She gladly accepted; swayed by the demon's charm, she hardly noticed as he led her into a deserted back alley. He glanced around…no one was there, no one would interrupt. He stepped in closer, dropping the basket and grabbing her slender neck, gripping it to cut off any cries for help before he twisted her head; breaking her neck.

Another wave of pain hit, and the crow demon fell to his knees, breathing hard as his fangs grew longer and he sank them deep into the young woman's flesh, paying no mind to the bloody mess he made as he drank down as much of the sweet red liquid as he could.

Paranormal deaths were a truly loathsome part of William Spears' job as Head Supervisor of the Shinigami Dispatch Association. These deaths showed up in the To Die registers as usual, and a reaper was sent to collect the soul on the time of death. But it just so happened that the cause of death was truly odd. In this case it had been a string of murders in London over the past two months, and all the victims had had their blood drained with two fang-like punctures in the victim's neck. Human reporters had claimed that it was the work of a vampire, but as a reaper, William knew better.

His first instinct was to blame Grell Sutcliff, as it related to blood which Grell was all too fond of.

His next instinct was to blame a demon, even though it was incredibly rare that they drank blood and left the soul for proper collection. However, vampires were pure myth. Any sane shinigami knew that.

And indeed there were traces of a demon's scent and aura around the sight of the body. It worked out, and someone had to go and eliminate the threat. How truly regrettably that it should be William Spears who was assigned by the Higher to the task.

This was how he ended up tailing the demon known as Sebastian Michaelis. He'd sighted him whilst in wait for the next death. He waited, and he did receive. But as he did linger, cold eyes focused on the demon from a fair distance away, he could see there was something ailing the demon. A faint smirk touched at his lips as he wondered if he would have an easy confrontation with the filthy creature. The human had to die, yes, but so did Sebastian.

William watched keenly, chilled slightly from the London night air. He would have to wait for the death.

It happened soon enough- the lion enticed the lamb, and it was promptly slain.

Sebastian suppressed a tremble that threatened to rack through his body, this woman's blood wouldn't last him long. He could taste it. She was too pure. There wasn't much sin to feed off of. But her blood did ease the pain. He withdrew from her, letting her fall to the ground as he licked the remnants of her blood from his lips. He knew a reaper would be around shortly to collect her soul, and he didn't wish to be present when it happened. The more energy he used, the quicker the effects of the blood wore off…and a fight would render his latest victim's blood useless. He moved out of the alley quickly, moving to where his dropped items still lay forgotten on the road, and started re-gathering them.

William could see the creature was quickly on the mend. He jumped down, pinning Sebastian to the ground by the very back of his tail coat. "Good evening," he greeted curtly, stepping on his coattails and extracting his scythe, only to adjust his glasses with them.

"So you're the one behind this...Sebastian Michaelis. You always were so...incredibly filthy. I find myself not surprised in the slightest, that it is you _drinking the blood_ of humans," he jeered, his lip curling and his words dripping with distaste. "How utterly, utterly vile you are."

Sebastian's eye twitched in irritation, one arm dropping down to his side to let a silver butter knife drop to his fingers, ready in case he needed it. "William Spears. I hadn't expected you to be the reaper on collection duty this evening. But I am glad at least you are not that annoying red thing." He turned, just enough to see the reaper out the corner of his eye, "I have left the soul for you. Best go collect it before a rogue demon happens across it."

"Oh, no, no," William replied smoothly. "That's not the way things work around here. You can't be permitted to continue killing, the way you have been. I am afraid you'll have to be eliminated to avoid further trouble for the reaper dispatch. And, forgive me, I've noticed you are...ailing. You are weak, you are vulnerable. You understand that I'll take the opportunities as they come, surely."

"Tch." Just how long had William been watching him? Just how much of his condition was known by the annoying death god? "Humans die. They have to meet their end at some point. An earlier death does not create more work for you. What do you care as long as you are able to collect their souls?"

"Demon killings are not in the natural order of things. Most generally, demons take the souls, and that is intolerable. The rules state," he said, "and I quote: _'If there is a demon involved in any death when a reaper comes to collect the soul, they are to be promptly eliminated._ '" He pressed his foot against his arm. "We do not falter. We do not disobey."

"Maybe you should go retrain Sutcliff in that. But realize, the rules that govern my kind are not the same as yours. So you'll understand when I fail to assist you in my elimination." He reached out, taking William's foot and twisting his ankle before slipping out of his tailcoat. He leapt back; putting distance between them, silver knives at the ready.

William winced in pain, also moving back. He grit his teeth against the agony in his ankle. "It's you and me, Michaelis. I am a shinigami who prides himself on the rules, who craves the moon and the stars orderliness. I will follow my instructions without fail, even if others like Sutcliff fail." He raised his scythe threateningly.

"I'm afraid, You'll have to fail as well. While I may die, I don't intend it to be tonight." In a quick, swift movement, and a flash of silver, a set of knives went flying at the reaper.

Those sorts of things were difficult to deflect on even brightly lit days and William was sure he'd receive some impact, but to what damage? He had a tool capable of killing demons. The demon had silverware, and that silverware never impacted. It had missed.

William leapt at the demon. "Poor throw, Michaelis. You're in bad shape."

"Allow me to correct my mistake." He hissed, bringing back another set of silver. Mid-way through the attack, the pain that the woman's blood had dulled, came back ten-fold, causing the attack to waver, the knives and forks clattering to the ground closer to his feet than his target's. "Ahhg!" he doubled over, clutching his pained gut.

William wasted no time, spearing him through the shoulder with his scythe, pinning him into the wall. "Now, now...that looks quite nasty, quite painful. Allow me to put you out of your misery," he said in a silkier voice than usual. He took him by the throat, extracting the scythe and placing the blades against his neck.

"Gnhh—Don't…do me any favors, Spears!" Sebastian groaned, kicking out. But it was getting hard to think through the pain.

William was about to decapitate him. He did it slowly, to draw the pain out, and watched with morbid fascination as blood leaked down Sebastian's neck and stained his clothes. In the few seconds he'd paused to consider what it would be like to make the man beg for his life, he had been hit by another set of silverware, golden this time, in the knee, side, and neck. He stumbled back with his scythe looking for the unknown attacker.

Sebastian crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, the pain in his gut far greater than the worry he normally would have over the amount of blood loss. He gasped, looking up pathetically from the ground, wondering what had caused William to back off him.

Gold.

There was no doubt that the knife in William's knee was Gold. And to the crow, that could only mean one thing.

Claude Faustus.

But why would the spider be here? Helping him? It made no sense.

No, it was impossible. Claude had died…

William made to get up again, but another set of knives were thrown at him. He jumped to his feet, moving backwards, and more and more knives came from the darkness.

"Stop it," he said irritably, "I have to take that soul!" The record was up and flailing about. He had already missed its run through, and soon it would break free, and that spirit would be free to wander the world un-reaped.

William leapt onto the roof, making a run for the records. At least he had to reap it.

The crow demon groaned in pain, watching the reaper disappear from his line of vision. "F-Faustus…What in—ngh—Lucifer's name are you doing?"

William was pleased to be allowed to reap the soul, but as he collected it, arachnids of all sizes and shapes dropped down from seemingly nowhere onto his shoulders. "Ugh," he remarked, brushing irritably at them.

"Hurry up little reaper, before you're ensnared in my web," came a cold, smooth voice from the shadows.

William got a fair bit of distance away. "...Justice will be dealt upon you, Michaelis," he muttered, and then ported away.

"…Already has…just not yours, reaper…" Sebastian muttered, mostly to himself as he continued to lay bleeding on the cobblestone, curled up and clutching his stomach, nearly to the point of breaking down to pray for the pain to fade.

When William had disappeared, there was the distinct sound of approaching footsteps, yet the shadows only seemed to grow tighter. "Well, well, well..." drawled a voice. "Truly...what an unexpected sight I have stumbled upon. Sebastian...Michaelis..."

The crow demon clenched his teeth, "Sh-ut it, Faustus…it's…hhh…bad enough without—your snide remarks…" he knew he should thank the other demon, but the fact that the spider was looking down at him while he writhed in pain, drenched in his own blood was enough of a blow to his pride.

"My friends tell me...that you are in a great deal of pain," murmured Claude Faustus. The same spiders that taunted William now scuttled over Sebastian's form. "Though that much is quite obvious. I am not being snide, of course, it is not every day you see the butler of Phantomhive twitching on the ground at the whim of a _reaper_..."

"That reaper j-ust _happened_ upon me an-d took advantage of the situation. This is not—gh—his doing…" he groaned, trying to think of how to fix himself up. He could risk another run-in with a reaper by killing a second human that night for their blood…but that only did him any good if he could actually move past the pain enough to find a victim…

Claude finally stepped into the light. He was well-dressed, bearing the appearance of a refined gentleman, and not that of a butler. His golden eyes glinted from behind his glasses at the sight of his once-rival, and he tucked a lock of dark, plum-colored hair behind his ear. "I know. Pardonnez-moi, but...at first you look as if you have...indigestion, perhaps?"

"D-don't be absurd I'm simply—hungry." He shook, attempting to uncurl himself to sit up. His gaze not quite meeting the golden one of the other.

A little smirk flickered over the man's gaze. "And that would be why you are drinking the blood of that human." There was slight mocking in his tone. "However, I know what its like to be hungry. And no amount of hunger would ever leave me in such a state. So it's something else."

The crow looked away, he wasn't going to admit it. Not to the spider—not to anyone, "…I'm just hungry…it's been too long." He repeated slowly, managing to push himself up, leaning heavily on a lamp post.

"Michaelis lies," Claude murmured. "My friends tell me that. ...Yet that is also quite obvious." He smirked a little more. "No, you're sick. I can smell it in your aura. It is quite vile."

"I'm not lying!" Sebastian snapped, turning a pained glare at the spider, "You forget demons don't get sick!" he groaned and pressed a hand to his stomach, "…I'm no more ill than I was when we first met."

"Now you're speaking nonsense," the tall man replied coolly. "Of course we can get sick. And you're a shining example of that. No, I think I know what ails you. It is too bad I have no reason to help you any further than I have. Be grateful I've spared your life."

"If you know, then why help me at all?" he growled in response, "Why are you even here? I had—uhn—killed you. Yet you are still alive and looking well. You're free to g-go…"

"And why," Claude said, kneeling beside him, "would I want to go back to Hell right now?" He smirked. "I'm not hungry. I'm not looking for contractors. I am merely enjoying the idle pleasures of these days." He reached out, his fingers dancing along Sebastian's chest.

Sebastian slapped his hand away, "Must be nice to be able to afford wasting time." He snapped. As long as he could remember, it had been contract after contract. He couldn't sit and wait for them; he had to go out and find them.

"It is, actually," Claude replied. "Very nice indeed. You, however, are in a spot of trouble...how do you intend to serve the owner of that tantalizing soul when your performance is so hindered?"

"I am not without recourses, I have called upon the aid of a subordinate demon for when these…attacks happen." He said before taking in a deep, pained breath, "I just need to speed the young master's r-revenge up a bit and I'll be f-ine…"

"For some reason I doubt it will work like that," Claude replied. "...I have a feeling you will soon die from this. The blood will not satisfy. You will become to weak to serve, to move...How pitiful, that a dark prince such as yourself would succumb to such a dishonorable death.

"The blood holds off the pain. I have lived with this condition for far longer than I care to admit. I know how to deal with i—ght…" he trembled, gripping the edge of a nearby crate. "I'd be fine now if S-Spears hadn't shown up…"

"But its happening worse now, isn't it?" Claude mused. "There have been more deaths lately. Same cause. You need it more, and you'll die soon. I hope you're aware of this because if I were any sort of respectable demon, which I am, I would seek help. Especially if my service was faltering. Then again, you were always...a little second-rate."

"No one can help!" The crow snapped, "I've tried. I've looked. There is no cure, no help for what I have!" he tried to push up to his feet, only to slip back down to the ground clumsily, "But I can still beat your services without batting an eye."

"You couldn't even beat a reaper," Claude said, stepping forward. His long, slender fingers curled around Sebastian's neck and he raised him up. "Oh, now...demons are prided on their ability to gather information quickly. And yet...I _could_ help you."

Sebastian gripped at Claude's hand, gagging slightly, "H-ow many of our kind have died of his illness since the day Lucifer created Hell? If there was a c-ure there would—not be a problem with being—gh—infected by this…How can you P-possibly help?"

"Perhaps not a cure," Claude replied. "But you know I am one of the magic class. I could provide a more effective treatment, with the skills I know. As such that you will not die if you keep taking it."

"…At what price?" he asked in a low, embraced tone. He didn't know if he could trust him, but he knew Claude was right. His time was running out. His illness was attacking him faster, demanding more of him too quickly. If there was a chance…if Claude could help him…

But nothing came without a price. Especially amongst demons.

"I will deliberate on that," Claude replied smoothly. "Say you want my help, Michaelis, and I will offer it to you. Else...you know you are going to die." He looked up at him, his expression impassive.

Had he not lost so much blood; the crow's cheeks would have flushed. He knew they would have as he looked down, submitting to the blow on his pride. Asking for help…Claude was nearly telling him to beg for it. And that wasn't even the full price. Yet; a hurt pride; at this point; was better than the death looming over him.

"…Please help me, Faustus."

Claude's eyes lit up, and he leaned in, licking the blood off of his neck. "Sweet...but tainted," he murmured. "Interesting. Can you walk, or should I have to carry you myself?"

Still not meeting that mocking golden gaze, Sebastian lowered his voice even more, "…You already know the answer to that by simply watching me these past few minutes. Don't make me say it."

A smirk flashed over the man's face. Oh, how lovely it was to see the cocky demon so far fallen. "...Very well." He would ease his mockery...for now. Slowly he lowered him and held him in his arms, as dignified a position as he could manage, and leapt onto the roof, making a beeline for Trancy manor.

Reluctantly, Sebastian held onto him, biting back as many sounds of pain as he could manage. "…Made this place your own?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow as he realized where he was being taken.

"That I did," Claude replied calmly. "The triplets have remained, though Hannah gone. It has been leisurely. I want for nothing, as I am quite satisfied for a good few years." Claude entered the mansion.

Sebastian felt a twinge of jealousy. To think that demons could enjoy such things. Well, most demons of higher rank and power. He knew he never could. Aeterna Fames was an incredibly rare illness found within the demonic realm, one that eventually killed the demon. There was a time when only low level demons were thought to be acceptable to the sickness, but every so often, a demon of a higher stature would turn up with it. Fames, as it was often referred to as, was not contagious among demons, and the medical demons who had studied it had come up with a theory that it is part of a birth defect, as they could find no traces on how a demon could contract it. They concluded that a demon who was born with Fames would not know it until the illness is set loose in his or her body. For Sebastian; this had occurred when he was still quite young; only having contracted and consumed a single soul. But they knew one thing for sure; Fames was a mutated illness that came from the Reaper's Thorns of Death.

Fames was a particularly nasty way for a demon to die; and quite the ironic fate. The illness would eat away at the demon's very life-force, their soul, until they were nothing but an empty shell; their bodies turning to ash.

But if the demon could feed the illness, give it half of each soul they consumed, they could save their soul and keep their fate at bay. A task that only grew harder over time.

The ex-butler of Trancy carried the demon inside, to a luxurious and well-furnished bathroom. He set the demon down on a closed toilet seat and wordlessly began to undress him, not an inch of expression on his handsome face. Claude knew Aeterna Fames well. He'd studied it as he became rich in the knowledge of all arcane magic, black and white. This was expected of his (quite well respected) class, and he specialized in his ability as a medical demon whilst he lived in Hell.

He had, however, always felt a little jealous of Sebastian Michaelis. Malphas, as he was known in Hell, one of the Princes of Darkness. That a man like Sebastian should be a prince, while Claude was of a lower class, seemed intolerable to him, but such was life. Those castes were unbreakable in Hell, but on the surface...how roles had changed.

Sebastian attempted to sit up as straight as he could, saying nothing as he was disrobed by the other demon. Due to his stature in Hell's Ranks, he was used to such treatment, though he rarely was able to spend time down there, usually having to do his contract duties. His body shivered as his soiled shirt was removed, exposing him to the cool air, which did seem to settle his stomach slightly, though it did nothing for the pain. His gaze slid over to watch Claude's hands work, "…Thank you…" he said suddenly, surprising himself.

His sudden thanks surprised Claude a little too. He blinked, slowly looking up at the demon. "That is probably not necessary," he replied, removing Sebastian's shoes and helping him up. With a calm, professional attitude he removed Sebastian's clothes for him with the exception of his undergarments, then he turned to start running the bath.

"While I'm sure you're not about to get shy on me, I'll give you the option of keeping this last piece of dignity."

Sebastian nodded, leaning on the edge of the tub for support, "I appreciate the thought…" he said, maneuvering the last of his clothes down off his body, letting them drop to the floor around his feet and leaving himself completely exposed.

"However, forgive me when I remark upon the fact that you must truly have fallen so low, to reveal yourself to me in such a manner, when you look so vulnerable." Claude's eyes shamelessly slid over the man's body, but they never lingered too long in one place.

"Hardly. I have nothing to be shy about, and it is not as if I am showing you my true form. In my c—ghnn…" he paused, wincing in pain, "In the light of my problem, I am in no more a vulnerable position unclothed as I was earlier.

"That is true, but you lose a certain air of dignity, certainly. Especially when you tense up like that." The corner of his lip twitched upwards. "Can you manage to get into the bath by yourself?" he drawled, "Or can you not manage that yet either?" His glasses were fogging up in the steam, so he removed them calmly.

"I can do such myself." He said, waiting for the tub to fill a little more before slowly maneuvering his legs over the side and sliding into the tub, grunting from effort to keep the action graceful. "And what's left of my dignity is untouched by the simple action of removing my undergarments your presence."

"Why, you can hardly be a gentleman in the nude," Claude murmured. "But enough of this tedious chatter. Clean your wounds, Michaelis, if you're capable, and I will consult my books in the meantime. If you require me, simply ring the bell." While he was not so happy about being summoned like a dog, he clearly had the advantage here and was willing to let slide this little nuance.

"…Miss being a butler?" Sebastian jabbed out of spite at Claude's words. He reached over and grabbed the washcloth and dipped it into the water before carefully dabbing at the cut on his neck, wincing in pain a few times.

Claude gave him a wry smirk. "Merely being hospitable," he replied lightly. "And you were being so mindful of your manners before now, boy," he teased, standing and straightening his suit. He curtly left the room after that, giving the demon his privacy.

The crow rolled his eyes and continued to clean himself and his wounds, taking the time to get them to stop bleeding. A cut from a reaper's scythe didn't heal quickly, and he knew he'd have to bandage it to keep it from breaking open again. Once he was finished with his bath, He attempted to remove himself from the water, placing his hands on either side of the slick porcelain tub and pushing with shaky arms. Much to his dismay, he was only able to lift himself a few inches before his arms gave out and he splashed back down into the soapy water. Cursing at his weakness caused by the pain racking through his body, he glared at the bell before finally reaching out and ringing it.

Claude was there in seconds, but entered slowly, calm and ever composed. "So we did have a little trouble extracting ourselves, hm?" He took a towel from the rack and raised the demon from the bath by his underarms. "Try and remain standing," he murmured as he took the towel and rubbed him down, like he had done so many times with Alois, and Sebastian had done so many times with Ciel. Then he toweled the man's hair.

"Your clothes are quite noticeably ruined, but once they're washed I will repair them. Until then, I shall lend you something else."

Sebastian stayed silent, managing to stay standing, though his posture was lacking due to the pain. "…Just how do you plan to help me?" he asked after he had been toweled dry.

"Two things," the demon said, supporting him and forcing him to slowly walk. "Firstly, I shall ease your cramps with medicinal herbs. And the disease itself, I will treat with a potion." He guided Sebastian to a guest room, where spare clothes—a dress shirt with a vest and trousers (hurriedly tailored to Sebastian's size and shape) plus all the necessary accessories. "Try and dress yourself. I was in the process of creating the potion, and it cannot be left for long." He excused himself, leaving the crow to his privacy.

The pained demon nodded and managed to move to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it as he grabbed the clothes, pulling them on with some difficulty after carefully wrapping his neck in gauze that he found waiting for him on the bedside table.

Claude was gone for some time, but eventually he returned with a thick wooden bowl engraved with powerful symbols on a silver tray. Beside it was certain herbs and a cup of tea to wash the whole thing down with. He set the tray down.

The crow eyed the tray's contents, his fingers shaking slightly as he straightened the ascot that had been laid out for him to use while he borrowed clothes. It was a strange feeling, being at a loss for words—or actions. He had never found himself in such a situation before, having to go to another demon for help; a demon who seemed to know more about his illness than he did. It was all he could do to look up from the tray and gaze questionably at the spider.

Claude sat on the edge of the bed, gesturing to the tray. "I've brought chamomile tea," he said. "Drink it after consuming some of the spearmint. Both will soothe the cramps, as well as the nausea you're hiding quite well. Don't drink all the tea yet though, you'll want it after you consume the concoction I have brewed for you." He gestured for him to get started.

"However, the potion does not keep long. For continued treatment, I will have to make it each time you need it."

"How often would I need it?" he asked, taking the herbs and slipping some into his mouth, chewing it briefly before chasing it down with some of the soothing tea, leaving a little more than half the cup. He set the cup down on its saucer and picked up the potion, the smell of it churning his stomach, "…Do I need to take the whole thing?" he asked, simply to confirm what he felt was obvious.

"Yes, Michaelis, the whole thing. And, well, I'd assume you would come whenever you felt the effects of the disease returning to you. I'll be able to whip it up quickly soon enough, and you could be back within an hour or two. There is an after effect," he said calmly. "Your body will go numb for a short while. Nothing drastic, but you may wish to remain in your seat until you can walk straight."

He nodded and brought the bowl to his lips, tilting it back to take the strange concoction in one go. Cringing at the taste, he swallowed the thick liquid and set the bowl back down, shuttering as he reached for the tea. Grateful that the spider had told him that he would want some of the soothing hot drink afterwards. Anything to wash down the taste and smell of it. He finished off his tea and set the cup down, already feeling the effects of the potion. His body going completely numb, and his mind going slightly fuzzy, making him feel dizzy. He blinked at the strange, but forewarned feeling before looking at Claude.

Claude removed his glasses and cleaned them with a small cloth. "I'm sure it doesn't feel nice," he murmured, in an almost sympathetic voice. "Nevertheless, a little bit of discomfort must surely be preferable to what you could have been in before." He glanced up, catching the demon's eyes on him. Sebastian looked a little out of it.

"It's….strange…but not unpleasant compared to before…" He muttered in a soft voice, he blinked slowly a few times and took a deep breath, "I wonder if this is what it feels like to be 'drunk'…" he thought out loud.

The demon smirked. "I would not think so," he replied, sitting back into a chair beside the bed and folding a long leg gracefully over the other. "In any case, I suppose you'll be sitting around here until the effects wear off.

"I suppose so…I'll not have Bocchan see me like this…" Sebastian muttered, leaning back and supporting himself with an arm, running his fingers through his hair to push a lock out of his face.

Claude watched him, head faintly tilted. Even for a demon, Sebastian was flawless at making every little movement seem just a little seductive. There was no denying he was an attractive man, and his body was a true testament to his perfection.

Claude said nothing of it though. "...Is there any other way I may be hospitable to you right now? Perhaps you'd like a book or something to pass the time."

"Honestly; I don't think I could concentrate on a book long enough to do any good…" the crow muttered, "My mind is a little fuzzy…or a lot. I'm honestly surprised I can form proper sentences like this." He frowned, "Seems to make me talk a bit more than I normally would, as well…"

"Well, we don't want you letting anything slip that you might regret," the man replied calmly. He had his own cup of tea, and sipped it lightly. "Perhaps rest is the best option, but surely you do not have the time for that...unless your subordinate is truly as helpful as you say."

"I have no worries about him or his abilities. And he is loyal. But still, I wish to return to the manor as soon as I am capable. Bocchan is quite demanding, after all." He shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, eyeing the taller demon, "…I hope I am not keeping you from anything, though I wouldn't know what that would be."

Claude smiled. "Embroidery, as it happens. I've been working on a lovely piece..." He glanced up as a spider descended from the ceiling. He raised his hand and intercepted the little arachnid. "Though one shouldn't brag, I am rather fond of it~"

The crow nodded, watching the other as he reached up so the small spider dangling on an unseen thread of silk could perch upon his finger, "Don't feel you must put off such hobbies on my account. I would be perfectly fine on my own." He said, pushing his strange thoughts about his former rival aside. Just why was he thinking about how Claude had a gentle side? The way he seemed to have such a soft spot for his arachnid companions. He himself had a flock of crows, but he hardly looked at them so gently, as Claude now looked at the small creature on his finger.

Claude's gaze was captured by the spider, and he smiled fondly at it as it wandered about his hand. "Oh, I am sure you'd much rather keep your own company...especially considering our...history." His golden eyes flicked up at him, "A rivalry...a war..." He dropped his voice to a whisper, "...a kiss. Just one. ...and a death."

"…I still don't know how you managed to survive that…" The crow muttered, looking towards a window, his cheeks going a pale shade of pink at the reminder of the lustful kiss that they had shared during one of their fights…he still didn't understand how it had happened, and yet, he didn't regret it.

Claude smiled. Sebastian clearly remembered it well. "Ah, I got lucky. Call it a miracle, if you will. There's no denying that my life has been problem free without you in it." He stood up, taking his cup with him, taking the tray but leaving Sebastian with his own tea. "Of course...we demons live such long lives...the moments that provide us with a little excitement should be deemed especially valuable." Still holding the spider, he turned to the door.

"…Excitement is equally of value when your life is proving to be shorter than it should…" The crow added in a low voice, half hoping that the spider hadn't heard him. though, with a demon's hearing, there was no doubt in his mind that he had heard.

Claude paused halfway out the door, a little smirk appearing. "...You are a prince, Malphas...Do not demean yourself by consuming the blood of the living. I will take care of it...from here on out." With that, he took himself away and left the Phantomhive butler alone. All in all...what an interesting event this had turned out to be. Sebastian Michaelis was in his debt, and would only continue to fall further while his illness continued.

Claude wondered just what he would take that was so valuable to Sebastian.

Watching Claude leave, Sebastian sighed and let himself fall back onto the bed; allowing himself the luxury of relaxation for the first time in—he honestly couldn't remember how long. Before he contracted with Ciel, that was for sure. He turned his head, dark black hair falling across his cheek as he gazed at the door Claude had disappeared through. He owed the spider so much by accepting his help…a debt that could only grow from here on out…a debt, he honestly didn't know if there was even a way to pay him back. Inwardly, he laughed at himself, looking up at the ceiling and covering his face with his hands, He truly had fallen quite far…to have to look to someone lower than him for help…to go to _Claude Faustus_.

Claude gave it a good two hours before he returned to the man. Sebastian was quite clearly taking the reprieve from his duties.

The demon knocked politely and entered his room. "Feeling better?" he asked of the man.

The crow nodded, sitting up, "Much. I was just considering taking my leave as the numbness is finally wearing off. I feel much closer to normal." He said in silent thanks.

Claude gestured to the door. "Then by all means, take your leave." Of course, demons never gave something for nothing and they both knew it. Sooner or later, the debt would have to be repaid. "And remember what I told you. You must come here. I assure you, you'll never manage that spell on your own."

He nodded, pushing himself to his feet and approaching the other, "You needn't remind me. Besides…I haven't the time to study such magic to make it for myself…I know such skills takes hundreds—if not more—of years to master." He raised his gaze to connect with Claude's citrine eyes, "You'll be seeing me again soon."

"And why would you? You are not of any of the magic classes, and certainly not the medical ones. But very well," he replied, meeting the blood-red of Sebastian's own. He exited the room, escorting him personally to the door. "I'll have your clothes sent to you, lest you come to collect them yourself."

"Perhaps not. But if it were possible, and didn't take so long, learning such skills would be beneficial to myself, as I would not need to look to you for such things. As for my clothes, I shall come for them if you have not returned them before my next…attack." He said as he was escorted to the door. Pausing, he glanced at the spider, "I do hope you will keep this information to yourself?"

"Unless others knowing that information could benefit me in some greater way than this will eventually do, you have my solemn word that I will not tell anyone." Gently leading him through the front door, his hand touched on the middle of the man's back. "Until next time, Michaelis."

Ruby eyes snapped over at Claude when he felt the touch, a strange shiver rippling through him, but he didn't comment on it, simply nodding, "Enjoy the rest of your evening." He said politely before walking down the stone steps and along the path that would lead him off the old Trancy estate, and towards London. His attack had wasted so much time. And now he needed to re-gather what he had gone into London for in the first place. He just hoped Ciel wouldn't be upset over his extended absence that evening.

Claude watched the man walk along the path and disappear. "Well, well," he murmured to a larger spider perched atop his shoulder. "...Look who has wandered into my web once more." He stared down at the dot that was Sebastian in the distance from the large glass wall in the music and dance room.

"What will I do with him?" Then he looked down. "...what do I want with him?"

* * *

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Sebastian walked down the long hall towards Ciel's office, gracefully side-stepping Mey-rin as the clumsy maid tripped and flailed about, messing up her simple task of dusting. Balancing his tray containing a slice of cake and some tea, he stooped down, catching the vase she tipped over before it could shatter on the floor. He set the vase back in it's place and looked down at her, "Please try to be more careful."

"Y-Yes Mister Sebastian!"

He ignored her as she hurried back to her task, and stepped into the office, closing the door behind him, "Your afternoon tea, My Lord." He said, setting the tray down and placing the cake down on Ciel's desk for him, a small desert fork laying next to the plate atop a napkin. He turned back to his tray and began to pour the tea into a cup, freezing just as he was about to tip the teapot, his eyes widening as he felt his stomach start to cramp back up. It had been nearly a week and a half without incident since he had taken Claude's potion, but the pain still took him by surprise, his gloved fingers shaking as he poured the cup. At the very least, he could finish serving his master tea. After all, if he couldn't do that, what kind of butler would he be? Yes, he could afford to take the time to properly take care of his young master.

He finished preparing Ciel's cup of tea the way his master desired it, and set it out for him, standing ready to be dismissed or ordered to do something else.

Ciel was busy with paperwork, and barely acknowledged his butler as he reached out for his tea, taking a sip. "Thank you, you may go." He said, setting the cup back down and opening his desk drawer to retrieve something.

The demon bowed and gathered his tray, turning to leave. He'd have to find his demon assistant to tell him what to do while he was gone. He frowned and reached for the door handle, pulling it open again to let himself out when Ciel suddenly gasped out.

Sebastian turned around and blinked in surprise. Ciel sat in his chair, holding his hand as blood dripped down his arm and onto the desk. A letter opener falling to the wooden surface.

He sighed and re-approached the young earl, kneeling beside him and taking out his handkerchief, "You should take care while opening your letters, My Lord." He said, taking Ciel's bleeding hand in his own to clean up the blood and bandage the small stab wound.

For a second time, he froze, the smell of blood wafting up and catching his full attention. His heart started to pound and he grew pale, the pain in his gut intensifying and his mouth starting to water as his illness was thrown into a full attack. "Gnnh…" It took all he had to stop himself from leaning forward and lapping up his master's blood. He dropped the bleeding hand and stood up, backing away, "I-I'm sorry, sir, But I'll have to send someone else to take care of this." He said, excusing himself and rushing out the door. Pausing only to tell his subordinate to tend to Ciel's wound before he hurried off the property and towards the Trancy estate.

Ciel blinked, wide-eyed. What was that reaction from Sebastian? He'd never seen anything like it...except perhaps, in recent days. Sometimes Sebastian would stop in his step, his ever-graceful posture contorting for a second before he mastered himself. Sometimes his hands trembled, especially when he got too close. Little things like that which were starting to concern the boy, but never, never had Sebastian behaved like this, and never had he found himself incapable of doing a job.

He sat there with his bleeding hand, mind wandering to an old event; back when Alois Trancy was still alive.

Back when his faithful butler and a man named Claude Faustus battled for Ciel's soul. Ciel was aware what his blood could do to other demons, having seen the instant climax Mr. Faustus had experienced upon tasting it.

But he'd never thought Sebastian would have a problem with it. How his pupils had dilated, like a shark…

It made Ciel nervous. Was Sebastian growing desperate for Ciel's soul? Demons probably never waited so long for souls, and Ciel knew the demon was hungry. But how hungry, he didn't know. Perhaps that was why the demon had suddenly brought in a seond demon servant to the house? Because he was getting too hungry for his soul and knew that they have not yet achieved his wish?

* * *

 

Claude Faustus was enjoying the afternoon. Dark clouds had been brewing for several days, and now they had come, releasing torrents of beautiful rain upon the English countryside. The demon sat by the large glass window, crocheting contentedly, his gaze focused out the window.

His sharp golden eyes zoomed in like a hawk on the little figure come hurrying towards his mansion at an inhuman speed.

Michaelis...this soon? And in this weather? He must be...desperate. A grin spread across his face.

"Hello, Michaelis..." he whispered to himself under the sound of rain on the roof.

Soaked, and trembling, half from the chill and half from the pain assaulting his body, Sebastian hurried up the steps to the front door, ringing the bell as soon as he could reach it, slumping against the painted frame seconds later, panting hard, and practically gasping for relief.

Claude was there to greet him. "...Oh, Michaelis," he murmured, looking him over. For a split second something resembling concern might have flashed across his features before he helped him inside. "Another attack?"

"Obviously…F-Faustus…" he gasped, stumbling forward and falling against the other demon, pushing aside his pride enough to hold him for support. Water dripping off his skin, hair and clothes and forming a puddle on the floor.

Seeing the man clinging to him so, looking like a waterlogged rat was certainly an interesting sight. Claude put an arm around him and helped him into a lounge room, where a fire crackled nicely. "Couldn't hurt to see if you merely wanted my company," he joked lightly. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take your clothes off again. You may think it is unnecessary, but you are simply wrong." He could see Sebastian was in a lot of pain. He knelt before him, pulling his shoes off. "I will take care of you," he said without thinking as he helped him out of his shirt.

If it wasn't for the pain, the crow would have blushed. But he just groaned, leaning back on the sofa, allowing the other demon to remove his clothing, though he did wonder why—other than the fact that he was soaked and dripping all over the floor and furniture. "Ghh…I d-don't have time for s-social visits, Faustus…" he managed to choke out with difficulty. Unintentionally implying that he would visit the spider socially if given the chance.

Claude pushed the man's hair back off his forehead. "Hang in there. Do not die. I shall return as soon as possible with the treatment." Watching the man in agony, there was no denying the slightly erotic factor, but compared with the fact that Sebastian could die—ah, why did that even matter?

Claude stood. "I've been practicing," he added, and left the room to prepare the treatment as he had done before once he'd tossed a blanket over the naked man.

Sebastian nodded and curled up in the blanket. It didn't matter if it made him look weak. Claude already knew his secret—his greatest weakness. He already had seen him in such shameful states; had felt it as he had desperately clung to him for support. Adding to all that, while in this much pain, was nothing. He just wanted relief…and…he didn't want to die. Not yet. He shivered as he waited for Claude's return, pulling the blanket tighter around himself.

Claude's practice had paid off. He was able to produce the potion much more quickly. He accompanied it with the chamomile tea to soothe the cramps and the spearmint to soothe the nausea, and brought it to him quickly. "Take it," he ordered blankly as he knelt beside him once more. "Take the potion first this time. That is more important."

Sebastian nodded and reached out with a quivering hand to take the potion. Obeying the command given to him. He brought it to his lips and quickly drank it down, groaning at the taste, but glad when it started to take affect. He set down the bowl, his hands trembling less as his body began to grow numb once more. He then took a sip of tea and slowly ate the herbs given to him. Once he could no longer feel his body, and his cramps and nausea settled, he finally spoke; "Thank you…" It was an unneeded statement, but he knew he owed the spider, and until the man chose to collect what was owed; then it was all he could do.

Claude sighed when things began to take affect. He noted that his heart had been beating a little faster than usual. He hoped Sebastian couldn't hear it. That sigh was akin to relief...each attack could be Sebastian's last, and if he didn't act quickly enough...

"Listen," the man with violet hair said evenly. "You may know this. But your disease makes you...so weak. Weak as in susceptible. Like a human. Look at you," he remarked. "Your fear shows clearly on your face, you feel your emotions more keenly, as well, you are just as liable to catch a human disease, like a cold, which is why I have removed your wet clothes. The last thing you want is to get even sicker." He shook his head. "You're not much better than a human right now."

The crow nodded and swallowed feeling a lump in his throat. He pulled the blanket tighter around his form and cast his gaze downwards, "I…don't normally let people see me like this…you…are the first…" he took a shaky breath, "Though I have never been this…bad off before…"

Claude never broke his gaze. It was interesting to watch emotions play over the man's face.

"I am your ex-rival, Michaelis. You'll kick yourself later if you decide you're going to start crying now." He adjusted his glasses calmly; raising the tea cup to the man's mouth and helping him take a sip.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the spider, taking the offered sip before responding, "I don't cry, Faustus."

The Faustian smirked. "...Nonsense," he said dismissively of him. "Anyway...these are things you must be expecting. Uncontrolled, quite human emotions, susceptibility to weakness, and if the condition worsens, you may even need to start sleeping, as your body struggles to repair itself." He shook his head. "In the meantime," he murmured, "I will treat you as best I can."

"I've suffered this illness for hundreds of years! Never once have I had to sleep or deal with 'human emotions'!" he snapped, suddenly annoyed with the spider.

"Oh, mind your manners," Claude said irritably, backing off. "Don't act like this thing isn't progressing and getting worse. And don't start getting frustrated with _me_. I who has graced you with assistance and hospitality." He glared right back at him.

"It's not like you are helping for free." He sneered, "You—" he cut himself off, crimson eyes widening. This was exactly what Claude had said might happen, wasn't it? Unpredictable human emotion. He had just snapped in unprovoked anger. Face flushing; he turned to look away silently.

"Hn...look at that," Claude replied in a less friendly tone. "Keep in mind that no matter my reasons, I _am_ saving your life. All I ask for at the current time is a civil tone from you. In fact I expect it...so do me that courtesy at least."

"…I'm sorry…" the crow responded in a low, shamed voice, "I really am grateful for your help…I don't know why I snapped."

"I do," said Claude, his irritation fading as quickly as it had come. "But I'll do what I can for you." He took the hand towel, toweling the man's hair dry so it would stop dripping.

"…Thank you, Claude…" he muttered before looking up at the spider, looking like a puppy that had just been scolded. His eyes stayed fixed on the demon's face, why was he just noticing how handsome he was? No. Why was he noticing it at all? He felt his cheeks grow darker yet.

Claude lowered the towel to see the redness on the man's cheeks, the big, pouting look in his eyes. "First name basis, Michaelis? Well, its preferable to being snapped at, any day." With him, he had brought the clothes Sebastian had left last time. "...when you can move again, change into these. They're dry and clean."

Again he felt his cheeks flush a darker shade. He swore he never blushed so much before in his life. Why had he used Claude's first name? He hadn't even realized he had…And just why did he feel disappointed when the demon pulled away when he was finished with his task? "Thank you…" And why was it that 'thank you' was the only two words he seemed able to say to Claude?

"Your aura when you came in," the demon said, saying nothing about the clear blush on his face. "...You were on the verge of losing it, weren't you? Something happened with your master? Were you in close contact of his soul? Because you have to be careful now. You don't have that flawless control anymore." His voice had returned to that quiet, vaguely sympathetic tone as he raised the cup to his lips again, moving up and daring to sit beside him. He could, he was not a butler anymore.

The crow gave a meek nod, "He was clumsy opening a letter and stabbed his hand with the letter opener…I had started having my attack right before then, and his blood…" he trailed off, knowing that he had said enough for the other demon to understand.

Claude shuddered involuntarily and this time it was he who averted his eyes, faintly embarrassed. Talking about the blood of the young master made him remember that brief moment of bliss that had caused such a humiliating display. "I see. All too well…"

He nodded, "I know I need to be careful…but in situations like that…it can't be avoided…" he paused frowning, "It got worse, even after I left his presence…" he lifted his gaze once more to Claude's, "And…The Trancy Estate is so far from the Phantomhive Estate…I…had doubted I would make it here…"

Claude met his eyes. "I know. I am thinking along the same wavelength of course. Porting is within my capabilities. So if we had some way to contact each other..." he lowered his voice, "I can come and help you." He raised a hand to brush a trickle of tea from his chin.

Sebastian sat in silence for a moment, trying to think through the fog that was making his mind fuzzy, "I know there must be other ways…but I'm not really in the right mind to think, and I can only think of one way…" he raised a hand and looked at it, "Blood-bond." He shifted his gaze to Claude.

A blood bond would alert Claude to anything that happens to Sebastian…and it would allow him to port straight to the crow demon within seconds. It would save them so much time…and yet. He was hesitant. Blood-bonds created a powerful link between two demons. One that, if misused or mistreated, could result in a sharing of power—or worse, the loss of power. It was something rarely used because of the potential threats. Normally the demon with the higher rank would create the bond; and hold the power to break it. But he was in no condition to uphold such a responsibility. If they used it; he would have to trust Claude to uphold it…he would have to trust him not to abuse it, or cause them both pain or grief.

Claude remained silent for a bit. Was that really the best option? Sebastian obviously wanted _him_ to make the bond. It involved a powerful connection, yes. Between mind and body. Claude would have to be careful he didn't get the effects of the disease second hand. Any of them, even his wild-running emotion. "...You realize what you're asking of me?" he questioned quietly.

"…I do…and I'm not happy about the idea, but…unless you can think of another way…"

Claude would have to maintain vigilant control of his mental and physical states if he was to do this. He couldn't risk the faint chance he might get sick too.

"...I barely know you, Michaelis. I am caring for you, but...that is a huge risk. For all I know you may kill me when you don't need me anymore, purely because I have seen you in such a state."

"That's not reason enough to kill you, Faustus." He muttered, "This isn't just risky for you, you know. I'd be, quite literally, be putting my power in your hands. Even after I consume my master's soul and end this round of attacks, the bond would stay open unless you properly break the bond."

"The question is, why should I trust you, and why should you trust me? Indeed...I could drain your power, couldn't I? Drain it completely. You have no reason to believe I won't hurt you. What if I took it as payment?" He met his eyes firmly.

The demon took a shaky breath, "Then I would not try to stop you…even though I couldn't if I did try…we made a deal when I asked for your help. I always pay off my debts. I honor my agreements." He was not liking this situation at all. Without his power; he'd be practically human. He'd be too vulnerable; and contracts would be dangerous for him. And because of his illness, he would die. He wouldn't be strong enough to stoop to the level of stealing souls. But holding true to a contract and granting his masters' wishes would be near impossible…

And if all that were to happen…then what would be the point now of trying to save his life? It's all pointless. His body shivered at the thought, hoping that Claude would never try it.

"If I were you...without power...without the strength to even scrounge for the filthiest souls you skived off someone else...naturally, I'd rather be dead. A life like that is not worth enduring. So, Michaelis. Are you saying you trust me not to do that to you?"

He nodded slowly. "I'll have to trust you…I'm already trusting you now to help with my illness…I guess…I can trust you close to completely. If I don't trust you and refuse your help now, I'm dead. If you betray me, I'll die. The stakes aren't that high unless you don't betray me. I think I'll take my chance on you."

"Interesting. I wonder if that is your human side showing. All my life, I have never heard a man or woman say they trust me. Funny I should hear it from you." He moved a tangled lock behind Sebastian's ear out of habit. "And it has been a long time since I've spoken with someone like this."

"…You make it sound as if I'm part human…or turning human rather than just being susceptible to human illnesses and emotions…" he muttered, subconsciously leaning into the other's touch. "But I do trust you…and I don't think I have ever spoken with anyone like this before…" Before the spider could withdraw his hand, Sebastian reached up, pressing his own against Claude's.

"We all have that side...buried deep within us. And usually...we never find it. But sometimes we do." Regardless, he drew his hand back, clearing his throat. "You're moving better now. The effects must be wearing off. Let's try and get this spell over with." He glanced away. "I will trust you not to hurt me in return. _Ever_."

Sebastian found himself a little disappointed when Claude withdrew his hand, but he nodded in agreement, "I wont." He promised.

Claude surveyed him emotionlessly. "That's right. I'll make you suffer if you do. But hopefully it won't come to that." He drew a golden cutler knife from within his jacket pocket. "We've made a blood pact before. Run me through it so I know what type you mean exactly, exactly what you want out of this."

"You'd…have the full ability to do so." He shivered at the thought, not believing he had fallen so far as to make such a pact with the spider demon—with anyone. The pact they had made before was a smaller one. More like a promise that had little to no risk or repercussions…But this… his bloodline would beat him to near inches of his life force for even thinking of it. But what other choice did he have really?

Loosening his grip on his blanket, he let it fall off his bare shoulder as he reached his hand out to his pile of wet clothes, grabbing a silver knife, "We'll keep it as simple as possible…" he said, simple meaning safe, "Just enough of a link so you'll be aware when I start having an attack. If the link is too strong, my attack may travel across to you. Only a single drop of my blood should be enough to keep it as such."

"Yes...that is what I am concerned about," he muttered, raising his sleeve up and holding out his hand for Sebastian to do the honors. Sebastian must be desperate if he was resorting to this. And he had to know the price for doing this would be great. Claude would demand something great of him, surely.

He watched the knife. "Just be careful."

Sebastian reached over to a vase of white roses, plucking one from its temporary home and laying under Claude's wrist. "…You be careful too…" he muttered, pressing his knife to the man's wrist and slicing a thin cut across it. Watching as small beads of blood oozed out and ran down his wrist, dripping onto the rose and coloring it a deep red. Counting out eleven drops, the crow leaned forward to stop the count and heal the wound by running his tongue along the slice and sealing Claude's half of the pact. He then set his knife aside and took Claude's from him, pressing his finger onto it and being careful to squeeze out only a single drop, letting it fall onto the rose, his blood mixing with the spider's and turning the rose black. He then offered his finger to Claude to seal his part. "The bond is yours to control…keep the rose safe."

A little shiver had run through his body as the man licked his wrist. That was to be expected of course, after all, it was demon saliva. Claude repeated the action, sealing his part of the contract. He kept the rose in his pocket for now. He raised glowing eyes to Sebastian. "I can feel it now."

"As can I…" The crow responded, his own eyes shimmering as the bond between them grew stronger, taking it's full effect, "I'm trusting you…counting on you…" He sighed and looked at his dry clothes he had left in the spider's possession after his last attack, "I should return to the young master. No doubt he is wondering where I am…"

Claude simply nodded. "So soon and we've already formed a blood pact," he stated. "But this will allow me to make sure you don't die. I will not fail you."

He nodded and reached out for his clothes, pulling them on and taking the time to make sure his attire looked perfect, though his body did still feel quite numb, causing him to fumble a bit when it came to his buttons. He checked his pocket watch and sighed, "I'll take my leave, until next time, Faustus."

Claude stood up. "Goodbye, Michaelis," he said curtly. "You know where the door is." He watched the man leave, noticing the uneasiness in his step that probably went unnoticed by most eyes.

Sebastian allowed himself a sigh as he walked back towards the Phantomhive manor as a steady, but slow pace. The numbness had faded more as he traveled, but was still somewhat affecting him. Checking his watch one more, he determined that he had made it back in time to save dinner before Bardroy destroyed it. He turned and followed a path around to the servants entrance, leading straight into the kitchen, expecting fully to find a mess and perhaps chaos as the three clumsy servants attempted to put out a fire.

Instead Sebastian would find his faithful subordinate, the young albino called Faelan, neatly dressed in his uniform. Pale purple eyes flicked over to Sebastian. His aura seemed different. But the youthful demon said nothing, turning back to the dinner he had taken it upon himself to prepare after Bardroy screwed it up again.

"…It is nice to have at least one capable servant to help around here…" Sebastian muttered, closing the door behind him and closing his borrowed umbrella before removing his tailcoat, setting it aside and rolling up his sleeves. He stepped over to the counter and tucked his gloves away, taking over half the cooking responsibilities and starting to prepare the side salad.

"I have no doubt about that," he replied in his light, airy voice. They prepared food together silently for a good twenty minutes before he spoke up again. "...Bocchan said you ran off on him...Was it your illness, sir, or was the blood...?"

The crow frowned as he opened the oven to check on the meal, "…Both." He admitted, "His blood did not help with my condition, and it caused it to flair up. I left for his own safety."

"And where did you go, may I ask, to return looking so healthy? Were you killing again?" He hated the thought that his master had to do something like that.

Again the demon took pause, "…No. I won't be killing anymore." He stood up straight and turned to look down on the weaker demon, "I have finally…found help." He admitted. Faelan was one of his most trusted underlings, and they had known each other for many years. Never once had the albino demon even hinted at betrayal, and as such, Sebastian had started to think of him as a friend…or, rather, the closest thing to it, given that Demons didn't have friends. Faelan had been there when Sebastian had found out about his illness…and had watched as he attempted to find a cure…to find help.

"Oh?" the man said interestedly. "...You must tell me about this...help. I have been concerned for you, sir, considering the frequency in which you have been having attacks lately." He went to the oven, opening it and nudging the roast potato gems he was cooking.

"…Another demon…one trained in magic and the medical field. He has this strange potion that helps, though I have yet to ask him how he discovered it. It's no cure but…it's better than nothing."

"What does he want?" was the first question the albino put to him. Demons never helped for free unless they cared very deeply for the person in question. And that was unlikely.

"I don't know…and I don't think he knows quite yet. But I do realize the price will be great."

"Really? Is it worth the price he demands, do you think?" he asked softly. "I feel I may be missing something here. Are you comrades? How did you find him?"

Sebastian ignored the first question. There was no way he'd admit he feared death. And to admit that any price would be worth it was admitting to that fear; that weakness. "…We were rivals. He even had attempted to take Bocchan's soul from my grasp. So no. we are not comrades. Yet…he found me during one of my attacks, and he agreed to help."

"Interesting. Do you think that's what he's after?" Faelan asked curiously. "The young master's soul?"

"No." he shook his head, "He's full. He was able to take his own master's soul recently."

The demon was silent for a moment, considering options. "I just don't want him to take something too valuable from you. And there must be something...if he had no interest; he would not have decided to help you. Unless," he decided, "he has feelings for you."

Sebastian scoffed, even as his cheeks flushed slightly, "No, He'll be asking for something valuable. You can be sure of that. And I'll give it to him…I did ask him to help, after all, and he is staying true to his half of things."

"Maybe it's a guise," the boy said with a tiny smile. "Pretend he wants something but he just enjoys your company~ Or maybe he wants...your heart~" He laughed in his unique way, completely soundless except for little snuffling noises.

"You are being ridiculous, Faelan." Sebastian said, turning to put a kettle of water on the heat, though his heart seemed to pound in his chest at the suggestion…but why?

"Forgive me," he said with a little bow. "It was not my place to insinuate." Wordlessly he tended to the gravy section of the meal, over the stove.

The crow nodded and continued to work on the meal, thoughts of Claude and his condition plaguing his mind. "…am I growing weak?" he muttered suddenly, not meaning to say it out loud.

Faelan did not reply. He merely gave him a sympathetic smile and cooked in silence until dinner had been adequately prepared.

Trying to hide the emotion on his face, the demon set everything on a cart and started to push it out to serve it to Ciel.

The albino surveyed Sebastian calmly as he left. Oh, there was something very different about his master…

Ciel raised an eyebrow at Sebastian as he entered. "Evening."

"My Lord." Sebastian nodded, wasting no time in setting out his master's meal just as he had done countless times; as if nothing had changed, as if he hadn't left his bleeding master in a desperate hurry.

When Ciel was comfortable with his meal, he cast a glance to the man. "Don't think this is not a thing we're going to discuss, Sebastian."

The demon paused, "Of course, My Lord. But I hardly think it is a good dinner conversation. And as I am your loyal servant, and not your guest, I shall leave you to your meal." He said with a slight bow, hoping to get out of the topic all together.

"You shall go nowhere if I do not dismiss you, Sebastian. If I wish to discuss why your service is faltering, we will discuss it, and I will hear no lies about it. Do I make myself clear?" He put a little potato gem in his mouth.

He stiffened, but nodded. It was, after all, an order. However small an order it was, he would obey. "If that is your wish." He set down a tray on the cart and dropped his hands to his sides, waiting obediently for the first dreaded question.

Ciel looked up at him. "...However...if my butler is ailing, I expect that he do the best he can to fix it. I'm not sure I care what's wrong, as long as you can fix it."

"…I am sorry, my Lord, it is an unavoidable situation. But do know I will do all that is asked of me."

"You know the conditions of the contract. You will receive nothing if you cannot win me my revenge." His gaze was a little soft though.

"Of course, and you shall have that revenge. I'll make sure of it." He said with a bow of his head. That was the one thing he couldn't give up on. Ciel's soul would end his attacks for at least twenty years…he hoped.

"Good. ...Then, that is all," Ciel remarked, going back to eating his dinner but watching his butler calmly as he left the room.

Sebastian bowed and turned to leave, pushing the cart out so he could start on the evening dishes.

* * *

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

On Claude's part, when Sebastian went a month without any incident, he began to grow curious as to the condition of the Phantomhive servant.

He was definitely still alive, and although Claude occasionally plucked the strings of their blood bond, he'd never sensed anything in return that meant Sebastian was in danger or dying.

He supposed it couldn't hurt to drop by to visit him, as Sebastian dropped by without warning, regardless of what Claude was doing. Claude figured he was allowed the same privilege.

So one night, he donned merely a pair of black trousers, a dress shirt and a thin black tie. This was not customary Victorian wear, but he adhered to no ones standards. The shinigami wore similar things in any case, so he didn't care. He simply activated the link and opted for an instant portal to Sebastian's location. This did have its downsides, as he had no clue what Sebastian could be doing at the time, but he was sure it would be dignified enough.

The Phantomhive kitchen was warm and busy, the smells of different foods cooking mixing in the air, and the sounds of sizzling meats were enough to make any human's stomach growl with the promise of what was to come. Ever perfect, the crow demon juggled the job of a full kitchen staff himself, having sent the other servants out to tend to other things. Ciel was having an important dinner meeting with other Lords and Ladies of London, discussing business. So Sebastian wanted to risk nothing, concentrating on the meal himself, though he made sure Fealan was within hearing range should he have an attack. He would not risk the cook; Bardroy, to take over the kitchen for the evening.

Though, as his hands worked, flawlessly preparing each extravagant dish, His mind wandered. Something that was happening more and more as the days went by. And it hardly focused on important matters such as his duties to his master, or the effects of his illness…no, his mind was plagued by the thoughts of one Claude Faustus, and the passing comment made by Faelan…

Did Claude like him? Could that be the real reason he had saved him that night? Offered up the option of going to him for help without a thought as to what the payment would be in advance? It was unlikely. Sebastian knew that. After all, demons didn't have such feelings. It was unheard of. They would take part in feeding their lustful desirers… but feelings like love were out of the question. It simply didn't happen. Such feelings were a weakness even if a demon did somehow grow to have such a thing.

And yet…what if he had? What if the spider did have feelings for him? Keeping them secret and pretending he just wants the payment at the end? No. Impossible. The thought caused Sebastian's heart to sink slightly, a strange feeling that he pushed aside.

Claude appeared before him in an instant. He'd never used portals like this before. They were quick and efficient, unlike others which required a blood seal. He kept telling himself to acquire a shinigami scythe.

He stepped back to steady himself, looking around. Ah, the Phantomhive kitchen. And there was Sebastian.

Though he still wasn't sure what he wanted from Sebastian, he'd come to terms with the fact that he must consider them fond acquaintances, because he'd never specified a price and yet had gone to such a drastic action as a blood-bond in order to heal him. He'd saved his life, too. That was undeniable. He didn't have to. He could have let his old rival die and taken Ciel's soul, but he didn't. That begged the question, 'why'?

"...Busy tonight, are we?" he asked lightly to the well-dressed but ever-so-slightly harried looking demon.

Sebastian jumped slightly and glanced over at the spider. When had he arrived? He had obviously been too focused on his thoughts to not realize the arrival of another demon…the very topic his mind couldn't get over.

"Yes, My Lord has important guests over for business purposes." He said, sliding a stuffed bird out of the oven and poking it with a thermometer to make sure it was finished perfectly before pulling it out and setting it aside to be dressed later after he checked on the biscuits.

"Hn," Claude remarked, noting the man's reaction. He hadn't noticed him come in. He approached, standing beside him. "You appear to be multitasking quite a bit. Didn't you have a slave, or something, to give assistance when needed? You wouldn't want to unnecessarily overexert yourself." He gazed over the things he was cooking. Of course...as a demon, he could handle the work.

"I have him making sure the others don't mess things up. Trust me, that is help enough at a time like this…" he checked on the biscuits and slipped them back in the oven; seeing they were not finished. He then approached the main dish and began the process of moving it onto a platter, adorning it with lettuce and other edible décor that complimented the seasoned meat.

"I see," Claude replied. "Well, alright. I've merely come to check up on you. How has your condition been treating you lately?" He didn't look at him, just watching him tend to the food.

The crow paused, "…You mentioned I may need to start sleeping to help it…and I don't want it to get to that point so I have been trying to keep myself as calm as possible and relax when I can…I have even tried sleeping at night a few times. It seems to help as I haven't had an attack yet…"

Claude nodded. "I see. That's good to hear." Wordlessly, he picked up the soup ladle and began stirring the pot. "Would you like some help? I have nothing that requires my attention tonight." The truth was, he loved cooking. It was one of his favorite hobbies.

Sebastian paused in his task once more. They used to be rivals…letting the spider help could be inviting sabotage…yet…he had entrusted Claude with his very life…he could trust him with this as well, couldn't he? "If you wish to do so, you may." He finally nodded, turning back to his task and blushing as he wondered why Claude would offer. Surely it wasn't to further his debt. After all, Sebastian owed him more than he honesty thought he could repay…

Claude felt the need to inform him of why he was offering his help, lest the man think he was just trying to make their debt deeper. "No, Michaelis," he murmured, "I very much enjoy cooking. I'd almost consider becoming a chef up here...but I suppose it's a bit too menial. The fact is...I don't have a reason to cook anymore."

"…It is rather an enjoyable pastime, however pointless without someone to taste your work." He nodded, "It's a calming task I enjoy most days."

"Ah... You must be lucky to have the young master taste and appreciate your food," Claude murmured as he helped him cook. "I..." He pondered if this was fit to admit to Sebastian. He supposed he could.

"...Can stand the food of humans. I developed a taste for it a long time ago...as a way to take the edge off my cravings. Similar to how you drank blood. But it's not the same, doing it just for myself."

Sebastian blinked, why was he telling him this? He didn't even know how to respond…so he didn't, continuing to prepare the meal and set aside plates for the human servants to eat once they got around to it. Then he paused and made up an extra plate and held it out to Claude, blushing slightly. He didn't know why he was offering him the plate, but there he was, and he couldn't go back on such an obvious offering.

"I'm…not trying to lesson my debt to you. I simply…" he paused, thinking of an excuse, "We'll have leftovers anyway, and if you can appreciate it then I don't mind you trying it…"

Faint surprise registered on Claude's face. He glanced from the plate to Sebastian, then he took it into his bare hands. "...Then I shall try it," he decided, turning and walking over to the little metal table and sitting himself down, facing the demon.

"This has nothing to do with our deal, Michaelis. Helping you cook is not relevant, neither is me trying your food."

"As expected." He nodded, covering each dish and starting to clean up the mess left over from a few hours of cooking and checking his pocket watch to make sure he was running on time, "I shall be back in a moment." He abandoned the rest of the mess, intending to take care of it upon his return, and he pushed the cart of food out to serve it to his master and guests.

Claude picked up the fork calmly and started to eat. Its effect was instantaneous, just bursting brightly with vibrant flavors that all blended and balanced so beautifully. He lowered the fork as he swallowed, a little stunned as color rose to his pale cheeks.

So. Good.

It didn't take long for Sebastian to serve dinner, being dismissed quickly. He walked back into the kitchen and glanced at Claude. He hadn't known what to expect, but seeing the spider sitting there with a rather stunned look on his flushed face was not it. "…Is…everything to your liking?"

Claude nodded slowly. "…A-ah…very, uh, very much so," he said, continuing to eat. He could say with truth that he'd never tasted another demon's cooking...what had he been missing out on? When he'd finished, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood. The color hadn't faded from his cheeks.

Sebastian nodded and returned to cleaning the kitchen as Claude ate. He started on the dishes, figuring he'd leave the dinnerware that were currently being used for one of the other servants to do after they had their own meals. His mind wandered. Why had Claude looked like that? Even if he had a taste for human food, it couldn't have been _that_ good…

Claude assisted him with cleaning. Slowly the blush faded, but the euphoria stayed just a little. How completely odd a feeling this way. "I really must commend you," he replied. "All former jabs I've made at your cooking aside, this was truly magnificent. Ciel Phantomhive is lucky to have someone so capable." He murmured this from behind him, close to his ear but not intimately so.

Both his breathing and his heart rate increased, his mind going wild with the thoughts and mental images of the spider drawing just a little closer…and wrapping his strong arms around him.

No. Stop. What was he thinking? It was ridiculous. Impossible, even…

Or was it? He had been in the spider demon's arms once before during one of their fights…no…twice…that one time they had somehow found their lips locked together in a small kiss… So maybe, just maybe…

"Faustus…do you have feelings for me?" he wondered out loud in a low voice.

Claude paused for a second, and then straightened up. "...Hmm...is that what you think, Michaelis?" he questioned. "What happens if that's the case?" He said this as he leaned in closer to his ear. So that's what Sebastian had been thinking. And why would he even consider it?

The crow felt his face darken, had he said that out loud? "O-of course not! It's ridiculous to even think it! W-we are both highly respectable demons, after all and…" in an attempt to cover up his mistake, he scrubbed the plate he was cleaning harder and lifted it from the hot soapy water, his grip faltering slightly out of nerved and the plate slipped from his fingers, clattering to the counter's surface and snapping a chip off the edge. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. What kind of mistake was that? Not only dropping a plate, but letting it be chipped in the process?

Claude just stepped back and watched him fumble for the plate. They could both see what he thought of Sebastian's reaction. "...You didn't answer me. What happens if I do, Michaelis?"

"I…I don't know…" he admitted in a low, almost shy voice.

Damn these strange feelings and emotions…they had no right being there…they were so—human. Aeterna Fames or not. He was still a demon—A Prince even. Such feelings had no place manifesting itself within him.

"Say I do, Malphas. What happens then?" He stepped forward even closer, his skilled tongue flicking against his ear. "...What happens if I did this purely because I want you romantically?"

The butler shivered, only slightly embarrassed over the small gasp that escaped his lips, "Then…you'd have me…" he whispered. But why? Even he had to ask himself the question. Just how much would Claude have him? Was he saying that because of their deal? Because of how much he owed the spider? Or…was it because he himself wanted Claude back…?

No. Impossible. He would never let himself gain such a weakness. If he was feeling any strange longings for the spider, it was simply because of the effect his illness was starting to have on him. That had to be it.

How very interesting. "...And what if," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper, "I wanted you…but would not be taking you because of our debt? What if I wanted you...apart from that? Hm?"

"Then…I would question your weakness for me." he said simply, attempting an emotionless tone, though even to himself, he could hear his voice falter with uncertainty.

"Right...did you know? It is difficult to have an exciting life when your heart is ice," he remarked calmly into his ear, then backed off. "For a man who lives on borrowed time...well. If I were you, I'd like to have as much fun as I could. Take the risks."

"…If it is my lust you want, I'll give it to you…" he muttered, drying his hands and turning to face the ex-butler, "I've not had the time to feed such desires in years. Payment or no I would not object."

Claude pushed him back against the sink. "...That is not what I'm speaking of. _Love_...Michaelis. Those feelings...bring much excitement, you know..."

Sebastian could practically hear his own heart as it beat against his ribs, his breath getting caught in his throat. As he meekly looked up into those golden eyes. "Love…but it is a weakness…" he whispered, his own voice betraying him and failing to come across as a strong statement.

"Is it?" the man questioned, his nose brushing against Sebastian's cheek. "Is it really? Satisfaction on a deeper level than just lust? Demons don't feel these things because we're meant to be simple soul-devouring machines...but those who can...they have evolved, Sebastian...they seek deeper satisfaction in immortality."

"But…it's so…human…so…vulnerable…" he turned his head and tilted it back to look up at the larger demon, "It's distracting…" he muttered, his lips feathering over the other's.

"Are you so sure, now?" he whispered, his lips touching Sebastians, his tongue flicking against them. "Are those feelings...distracting, for you?" His hand rested on his waist, then gently wandered over his crotch. He could feel Sebastian's heart racing.

"…Yes…" he whispered before he could think…before he could deny it to himself that he was developing feelings for the other demon…how he craved not only his touches…but just to see him…to have him by his side until the end…

Wait…when did those desires form?

Claude smirked, taking his lips as his hand shamelessly slid down the front of Sebastian's pants, beneath his undergarments, and stroking him slowly and deeply. "How _very_ interesting..." In front of Sebastian's face, a spider dangled on a lone thread. "...Even more interesting...my friend says...you're telling the truth..."

As much as it hurt his pride, Sebastian found himself letting out a small moan as he pressed himself to Claude's hand and closed his eyes as he pushed his lips up into the spider's soft lips. He wanted him…all of him…

Claude certainly enjoyed touching the man, that was undeniable. He kissed him back enthusiastically as he stroked him. Then he released him, backing away. "A pleasure to keep your company this evening, Michaelis. Until next time." Luckily the bloodbond worked backwards and it allowed him to return to the last place he'd ported from.

Sebastian was left panting, his body heated with desire, lips still parted slightly from the spider's kiss. He even let a small whimper of disappointment loose.

How cruel. Just like a demon to tease and coax his prey until he got what he wanted…but…did that mean that Claude saw Sebastian as his prey? He had, after all, just played him, and coaxed a small confession out of him…a confession Sebastian himself hadn't known was there until he admitted it to the spider. Claude knew another weakness…he had used him and played with his feelings that he himself didn't yet understand.

Cursing under his breath, he gripped the chipped plate and hurled it across the room, letting it shatter against a wall near the door, then he leaned against the counter, his hair falling into his face as he tried to keep his emotions down…before he showed more weaknesses…

It took Sebastian a lot longer to school his features and bury his emotions than he would have liked. But he managed, and he left the kitchen and continued about his chores, even seeing each guest to their carriages and putting Ciel to bed. Then, rather than starting his rounds of the property, he found himself in his small, hardly used bedroom, stripping down and curling up on his bed, sliding under his covers.

Unexpectedly, his thoughts and feelings about Claude slowly bubbled back up, making the bed feel cold and lonely. Gritting his teeth, he took hold of his length and began to stroke himself; something he never did, due to his pride. But this time…it couldn't be ignored…the fire Claude had started in him wouldn't be snuffed out easily… Ashamed with himself, he wet his fingers before moving his hand down and pressing two digits up into his entrance and pumping them in and out as he pleasured himself…all the while seeing Claude's smirking face in the back of his mind.

Finally, he cried out Claude's name, bringing himself to climax before shivering and curling up under his blanket.

"…filthy spider…" he muttered, closing his eyes.

Claude had returned home, quite pleased with himself. It had been a long time since he'd bothered to use his skills of seduction...no one had anything of value to him that he couldn't take by force. But he had coaxed a confession of love from Michaelis...that was the last thing he'd expected. Getting up on the railings, he twisted and twirled about, leaping from rail to rail high above the ground in the lonely manor.

And yet, after he'd danced about, delighting in what he had discovered, the smirk faded from his face and he paused on the chandelier. ...Sebastian had thought Claude had these feelings. Why? Because he had offered to help him with an undefined payment. He had come to see him out of genuine concern for him. He'd practically melted upon tasting food made by the man (and oh, it was wonderful!) ...and all on top of saving his life. Where did that leave Claude Faustus? In the end, he'd neither confirmed nor denied a thing.

Claude stood there on the chandelier, pondering for a good while. Usually when he stopped to think, he came to a conclusion, but these were foreign thoughts, and foreign feelings. He looked down at his hand, his long and slender fingers so white yet contrasted by black nails. He'd touched Sebastian with this hand. He wanted to touch him again. He wanted to touch himself, having awakened sexual desires he hadn't bothered with for a long time. He wanted satisfaction, but he wouldn't give it to himself. With these strange thoughts came ones he'd kept away for a long time. Darker thoughts. Weaker thoughts. Though he could have Sebastian sexually if he desired. But he made himself starve instead.

* * *

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

The following day, Sebastian accompanied his young master and Young Lady Elizabeth into town, following them around as the annoyingly cute girl dragged Ciel from store to store, and finally to a small café she was interested in for some lunch.

The blond pouted and fixed her eyes on the butler, "Sebastian, if you are just going to stand there, you can leave us alone for a while! You're no fun being so professional all the time! Isn't that right Ciel?"

Ciel sighed in annoyance but nodded. "You may leave us for now."

Sebastian bowed and took his leave of the café, glad to be away from his master's fiancé. He returned to the carriage waiting outside by the curb, and stood near it, red eyes watching couples, families, and lone travelers passing by.

Suddenly, his stomach gave a painful twist, instantly sending him to his hands and knees, nausea following soon after. He pressed a gloved hand to his lips, urging the feeling to pass. Though he knew it wouldn't…not easily…and not on its own. A few passerby's stopped to watch the pained butler, one man stooping down to his knee and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir, are you alright?" he asked in alarm.

"F-Fine…thank—nn—you…excuse me…" Sebastian pushed himself up and headed down the street, turning into an alley so he could easily take to the roofs and head towards Claude-

No.

No, he wouldn't go to that man…he wouldn't be used and manipulated! Once was more than enough to be played a fool by that damnable spider! He stumbled forward and slumped down behind some crates, out of sight, and he clutched his stomach.

But how would he stop the pain himself? …Blood?

* * *

 

 

Claude was being leisurely as usual. If he wasn't so happy to indulge in the sin of 'Sloth', he might be offended if someone called him lazy. He simply went about his hobbies, always eager to learn some new ones. A storm was coming. He was looking forward to it. Though there was no rain, ominous clouds loomed nearby that Claude knew foreboded a delectable storm.

In the end he'd pushed all worrisome thoughts regarding Sebastian aside. It surely meant nothing. The royalty of demons were even less likely to succumb to emotions. Yes, they called it succumbing, not feeling, or indulging. There was no solution to his thoughts so he pushed them aside.

That afternoon as he lazily played with the kitten he'd taken pity upon one stormy day, drinking tea as eloquently as true royalty, there came a shock of pain in his body. It was so bad he dropped his teacup and covered his mouth, certain he was about to be sick. But it passed as quickly as it had come, and he realized it had to be Sebastian having an attack.

Sebastian shivered as the air grew colder, a few sprinkles of rain starting to hit the cobblestone roads. But still he sat, lingering in the pain his illness gifted him, refusing to get up—to run to the spider. His breathing began to grow heavy and the rain grew heavier, soaking him through quickly. He curled up into himself with a whimper.

And then…a cough ripped through his throat, causing it to feel raw. His eyes widened at the very _human_ feeling gripping him, his coughing growing into a fit. But why? The rain? He hadn't been in it that long…even humans could stand the rain longer than this before catching cold… He gasped and thrust himself forward onto his hands and knees, heaving the contents of his stomach between coughing fits.

A blood pact was eternally binding. Sebastian could port to Claude just as he could to the demon. But Claude waited for several minutes and there was nothing. Perhaps Sebastian was stuck in something un-postponable with his master... a lot of use he'd be there, though.

Looking down at the shattered glass on the ground, he frowned. After a minute he got up and ported to the demon, because the pact _was_ binding, and he had to go to the demon, no matter what. He nearly stood right in the mess the demon had made and leapt back in surprise and shock. It passed quickly.

"...Michaelis," he muttered, grabbing him by the lapel regardless of how ill he was, "You're in an attack...why didn't you come to me?"

Sebastian moaned and struggled to focus on the spider, "I w-won't be—"  
He hunched over, coughing into his gloved hand as the world around him seemed to spin. However he wasn't able to finish his statement, slumping forward against Claude, his skin burning as he nearly lost consciousness.

Right as the rain began to come in, Claude ported him back to the mansion. He didn't want the man vomiting on his floor so he dumped him next to the toilet and wordlessly went to go and prepare his treatment.

He scowled to himself the entire time he'd made it. What could a sentence like "I won't be" be ended with? 'I won't be tricked, or coaxed, or manipulated.' Something to that effect, surely, and Claude would find out the rest of it soon enough. But first he had to help the man. He brought the concoction to him quickly, administering it himself, tipping it down his throat.

"I'll kill you if you throw this up," he muttered, chasing it with nice hot chamomile tea. Well, personally Claude thought chamomile was disgusting, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Sebastian sputtered slightly but managed to down both the potion and the tea, moaning slightly as he leaned back against the wall, his hurt pride not allowing him to give in and lean against Claude. It wouldn't let him cling and bury his face in the spider's shoulder… no. He wouldn't give in to that weakness. He wouldn't succumb to those feelings. He wouldn't fall in love.

When the numbness had set in, Claude lifted him up in his arms and carried him away to the fire once more, where he could endure the paralysis in relative comfort. But first…

He pressed him down onto the couch and tilted his chin to look at him, "We've got some time to kill," he said mechanically. "So why don't you tell me why you didn't come." A large black spider with sharp, yellow-jointed legs dwindled down onto Sebastian's shoulder and started to climb up his neck.

Sebastian shivered and turned his head to look away, "I won't…have you manipulate me like that again, Faustus… It's one thing to do it to a human, it's another thing to do it to me. Or have you forgotten who I really am—illness aside?"

"...What," Claude whispered, "a Prince? That means nothing up here. Is that why you were willing to risk your life? Because you were too stubborn to come to me? Too bitter that I didn't reciprocate your feelings of love, huh?" He let go of his chin and belted him across the cheek with the palm of his hand, "Idiot. You're a damn fool, that's what you are." His voice had risen, betraying his anger. "I have not done all this for you so you can simply let yourself suffer when you're upset with me. Does our contract mean nothing?"

Blood red eyes widened as Sebastian's head was forced to the side, "You made a fool of me, Faustus…" He slowly turned his head back to glare at the spider demon, "I trusted you and you tricked me, forced me into this…this weakness! And then you expect me to come running to you every time I get an attack? When I'm most vulnerable? How…" he choked, horrified at the wetness gathering in his eyes, "How can I go to you when you now hold two of my greatest weaknesses in your hands?"

Claude scowled. "...Did I mock you? Did I insult you? Patronize your feelings? I said nothing, I simply gathered information. But I forced you into nothing. I've done nothing but help you, Michaelis."

The spider crawled inside Sebastian's shirt, wandering over his body.

"The fact is that I will see you vulnerable. That is what is going to happen with this illness. Why don't you face up to the fact, because I am treating you professionally and _almost_ kindly _._ _Our contract_ was not made to falter at such pitiful tantrums!" Hearing himself shout caught him a little off guard and he sat back.

"…Why?" Sebastian asked, shivering at the feeling of the spider crawling over his skin, "Why agree to this contract at all? What can I possibly have to offer worth all this?"

"It doesn't...matter," Claude stammered. The spider crawled down his chest, its pointed legs tickling Sebastian's skin uncomfortably.

"...I'll know it when I find it." He lifted tea to the man's mouth and made him take a long draft of it.

"Maybe I considered what such a relationship would be like. For a minute. And I have this to tell you," he said quietly, meeting his eyes: "Your feelings, whatever they are, have only come about from the effects of this disease. It is forcing you to feel beyond your usual range. I am certain of this."

"…I've come to the same conclusion…or at least I tell myself that…" Sebastian muttered, glancing away, "…Doesn't make it feel any less real…any less painful...I…prefer the pain of the illness itself over this strange…emotional...hurt…"

"...Look," Claude said in an unusually soft voice, "...no one has, or ever will, be able to love me. You'll realize that soon enough." He put a hand on his head, and slowly the spider crawled out. His eyes, lit up by the firelight, were almost a little sad.

"…Stop it…you aren't helping, Spider." Sebastian shifted to sit up a little more, "…Even if it is just the effects of my condition…it feels like I truly am…" He trailed off, half on purpose, not wanting to say it out loud and make it official, and half because he found himself, despite his anger and frustration, despite his pride, leaning in and once again pressing his lips to Claude's.

The kiss was different this time. In fact...Claude couldn't recall the last time he'd felt a kiss like this. It wasn't just lust. It was soft...and sensual...and seductive...It was like he could _feel_...something different in the kiss. Was it genuine...love? Romantic attraction? He felt emotion well in his chest like he hadn't felt in years and he shuddered lightly as he kissed the man back. It was a physical effort to kiss the way Sebastian was kissing, instead of fast and lustfully. "But I'll make you better," he whispered.

The crow took a shaky breath, still close enough for their lips to touch, "What…if I don't want you to…if it means I can't…feel this anymore?" Sebastian whispered, wondering why he was saying the exact opposite of all his thoughts before. Why would he suddenly want to keep these human-like feelings for Claude? To hold onto a weakness…

"Because you know I'll hurt you in the end," Claude replied, closing his eyes as his hand slid longingly up Sebastian's thigh. "That is not what I want to do. Trust me." He pushed their lips back together. He tasted too good, it made his mind buzz and his breathing go a little heavier.

"But…Claude, I—" Sebastian's words were lost in Claude's lips, and he slowly slid his arms around his shoulders. The kiss was gentle like the last one had been, but…it seemed to hold more…passion? He pressed into it more, pulling Claude slowly down with him as he lay back against the couch cushions. "…Mmm…"

Claude's fingers walked over his body, sliding over his groin and his nipples, and he felt a reaction stir within his own loins. He wanted him lustfully. That was all it was, right? A gentle, quiet moan escaped him, because if Claude Faustus had a failing it would be that he could not be subtle when things aroused and excited him. He...even wanted Sebastian to know. But slowly he drew back. There were strands of fresh spider web trailing where Claude's fingers had walked.

"…Claude…" Sebastian whispered, slowly meeting his gaze, "Tell me one thing truthfully…do you feel anything for me? Even…if it's just lust?"

Claude stared at him for a long time. "Of course. There is no denying your flawless figure or your ability to seduce, Michaelis. You could make any young man or woman fall for your charms."

Silently, Sebastian nodded, reaching up to trail his fingers down from Claude's temple, across his cheek, and along his jawline, wondering where he should go from there. Seduce him? Make it feel like they were together like his…heart so longed for…Or leave it be and continue feeling this lonely hurt in order to save himself from rejection later.

Claude's eyes fluttered shut. "It is my job to make you better. Not to hurt you further," he said, "I think, with...these feelings, indulging our natural lust for each other will only make things worse." He adjusted his glasses calmly as Sebastian's fingers wandered over his own skin.

"But for how long?" Sebastian muttered, eyes focused on the spider's soft lips, "How long will it take to make me better? Are you helping just until I can consume Bocchan's soul? Will I be on my own after that? Or… will you help me until the end and the illness takes me despite your help? A cure is so far out of my reach…I'll die no matter what, and…I may just die with these feeling running wild…"

For the first time, Claude was at a loss for words. His eyes opened on Sebastian's. There was something there...he could feel something inside him...What was it? Was he feeling...Sebastian's feelings by extension of their blood bond? Emotional transfer?

The spider didn't know what to do. He simply sat on the couch and rolled Sebastian into his lap, his arms sliding around his body in what he assumed was an embrace. Ah yes, Alois desired these things sometimes. He'd never desired them himself...except from his family, as a very young child. Now, he held Sebastian close to his chest, feeling his heart swell.

The crow demon let his eyes close, his own arms sliding around and clinging to the back of the spider's shirt as he lay there, simply taking in the man's scent…memorizing the feeling of their arms encircling one another, "Mphh…" He tightened his hold on the spider, hugging him closer in an almost needy way, his mind in a constant battle between trying to bed the spider or not. All logic pointed to not, given the circumstances, but…he couldn't stop himself from even this…clinging to a simple embrace.

Claude held him there for a long time, rubbing his back, unsure of what he was doing. If he offered any affection it should have been sexual, and here he was, _hugging_ him. He let go all of a sudden, rolling the man off him. There was faint color in his face. "Do not...mention that...to anybody," he said in a relatively even tone. "Do you understand me?"

Sebastian blinked, growing upset over Claude's sudden reaction, "You forget that this would reflect upon my reputation just as much as yours," he snapped, pushing himself up, but because he was still far too numb, his stance faltered and he gasped, falling back down and narrowly missing the couch.

Claude helped him back up. "I did that to help you feel better. So please don't get upset again." He fixed his hair up for him.

"…I'm so confused as to what to do about this…what to think…" Sebastian admitted softly.

"We proceed as usual, Michaelis. You're intelligent. You'll make the right decision." Claude's expression was a little less cold. "But," he whispered, leaning into his ear, "...I want you to know that I hate being called 'Spider'," he said with a faint smirk. "So don't call me it again. I have a name."

"No promises. But I'll remember." Sebastian muttered, "But I—" he cut himself off, his eyes widening and beginning to shimmer as he felt the contract on the back of his hand pull at him. Ciel was summoning him; demanding his presence… but he couldn't even stand yet. That much had been proven obvious not seconds before…he couldn't obey the order… "Cl-Claude…Bocchan is…calling, but…" he warned, knowing the spider would understand.

Claude's eyes opened just a little wider. "...Shit," he muttered without thinking. "...Wh..."  
Obviously Sebastian couldn't stand yet, he could still barely move.

"I suppose my carpets really are going to be ruined," he grumbled, getting to his feet. The contract was the priority. Response was expected to be instantaneous, "Hang in there, Michaelis."

He got up, his long legs making large strides out of the room, down the hall to the phone, where he called the manor, demanding 'the servant of Michaelis'. A young boy with a feminine voice answered the phone, and Claude gave him the order to go to Ciel.

There was no reason, in Sebastian's mind, to ruin what could be avoided, but looking around the sitting room, he found it lacking even a bucket for the ash from the fireplace. And then, his time ran out, the contract on the back of his hand beginning his punishment for failing to comply to an order. Bolts of pain shot up his arm from his contract and through his entire body, drawing a gasp from him. It wasn't like the pain of his illness, but it was still enough to render him useless, adding it to his current state. And then, he felt something burning as it made its way up from his stomach, filling his throat and mouth until he couldn't hold it in longer.

A sticky black substance oozed past his lips until he finally let it go, violently heaving wave after wave of the burning goop.

Claude winced when he walked back into the room. "Michaelis..." he muttered, carrying a bucket. Too bad there was a wait while the clumsy maid went looking for the subordinate, or his carpet's fate might have been avoided. Hell, even the couch, and the demon's clothes. All covered in that awful mess. He handed him the bucket, lifting him up and sitting him down in front of the fire.

"Looks like you got hit hard by that failed order." He watched the substance sizzle lightly and remembered how it burned the insides. It burned the outside too. Claude knelt beside him and for the third time started pulling his clothes off before it burned his skin. Sebastian thanked Claude with a pained look, hugging the bucket as he heaved once more into it and shifting to allow his ruined clothes to be removed, grateful for the thought before the black goop ate through his clothes and started to burn his skin. In a way, it was like an acid.

The bucket was almost completely full by the time his punishment was over, calming down and leaving him with only the burning feeling lingering on his throat, tongue and lips. He pushed the bucket away from him and leaned back, panting. Sweat glistening on his tired and weakened body.

Claude felt sorry for him. It was terribly unfortunate that Sebastian had to suffer this on top of what he already had. The man looked like he'd been through hell. He wiped at his mouth and body with a cloth, removing residue, then made him sip water. He'd pulled his own coat off, draping it over Sebastian's lap while he raised the jug to his lips, watching him swallow the cool liquid. Claude pushed his hair out of his face almost affectionately. "You're staying here tonight," he told him lightly.

"But…Bocchan won't…" Sebastian trailed off. Claude's voice had been soft, but it hadn't been a request. So he nodded, "Unless he calls for me again while I can move…I'll stay…"

"Understandable. You wouldn't want this to happen twice." Claude continued to lightly run his hand through the man's hair without thinking.

"I will take care of you," he said, dabbing sweat from the man's chest. "I don't suppose you'll be eating, so maybe I should find you some nightwear. It's getting dark."

"Thank you…" Sebastian muttered, leaning against the other and enjoying the feeling of his fingers running through his hair. "I'd also like to bathe if that is alright with you…" he said, able to feel the residue from everything happening that day clinging to his skin.

Claude nodded graciously. "Very well." The man was leaning against him again, calling him 'Claude' again...the spider butler might have figured Sebastian's feelings out by himself at this point. He gathered him into his arms and took him to the large, circular golden tub. Once the water was nice, hot, and filled with bubbles, Claude placed him down in the water. He rolled up his sleeves and removed his foggy glasses, supposing he'd have to help him wash this time around.

Sebastian relaxed in the tub, actually taking time to enjoy the relaxing waters. And though he thought he could wash himself with little difficulty, he said nothing, allowing himself to greedily let the spider demon help with washing his back…feeling those hands slide along his moistened skin… there was no way to hide his light blush.

Even Claude didn't seem to mind so much. The man was naked before him, and he got to touch his perfect body. Perhaps even a little more than was necessary. From behind, he allowed a blush matching Sebastian's to grace his cheeks. Half an hour of silence passed. But Christ, he wanted to do so much more, especially to the lower section...the things he could do with his hands, his tongue, his member... He shuddered, forcing the arousal back before it was detectable in his aura, "I think we're about done here," he murmured. "I'll get you out and dressed."

The crow nodded, having been attempting to keep his own arousal down. It was hidden beneath the bubble-topped water, but he wanted to get out before he couldn't control it any longer.

Claude found him pajamas, not in the mood to tailor something at the moment, "Would you wear this?" he questioned once Sebastian was in his room. It was essentially what the young boys wore; a nightdress, except a little larger.

Sebastian turned to eye the suggested article of clothing and nearly choked. The nightgown even had lace about the cuffs and neckline. It was obviously designed for a child, but did look large enough to fit him, In fact; it looked exactly like one that Ciel often wore. He had to wonder why anyone would even have such a thing. The idea of a grown man wearing such a thing…And yet…he had little choice. His own clothes were beyond repair, and if it was between this and being naked all night… "I…guess it'll do, if there is nothing else." He nodded, "But no one hears about it."

Claude just gave him a little smile. "Nobody hears a thing, Michaelis." He stood him up, removing the towel and sliding the soft fabric over his chest. He neatly tied the bow, "...Just like our young masters," he whispered with a faint smile. He could see Sebastian was embarrassed, and what a nice look that was.

He told him he'd return with some milk tea for him, and when he did, he too had donned pyjamas, his customary pink ones. The corners of Sebastian's lips twitched upwards, "…Do you always wear such…interesting bed wear?" he nearly chuckled, not knowing which one of them had on the more embarrassing pajamas.

Claude blinked. "Interesting?" he asked, looking down at the pink flannelettes. Again, a style picked up from the shinigami. They did have such nice fashion. "They're just nice and comfortable," he replied, as if stating the obvious. He entered and put his tea down for him.

"In color, at least." Sebastian nodded, reaching out for the cup of tea. Tea was starting to grow on him. He hadn't ever tried it much, but with Claude making it for him…he was starting to enjoy it, looking at it as more a guilty pleasure…but only if it was from Claude.

"You're moving better now," Claude remarked. "That's good to see. You'll be out of here by morning." He sat beside his bed as he drank the tea. As a demon who lived so comfortably, he was afforded the luxury of sleep and took advantage of it. He slept often, for long periods of time, and he intended to retire to bed soon himself.

"I should hope so," Sebastian nodded, lowering his cup from his lips, "I have duties to attend to, and an apology to my master to make."

When Sebastian was finished, Claude took the cup from him, their hands connecting around the china for a moment. Claude held it there, his eyes flicking up to Sebastian's before taking it back slowly, "Well...I cleaned up just before, so I'll be off...but, Michaelis," he murmured, "...I want you to know that...I am appreciative of your feelings...even if they are impermanent. As such, I have a little gift for you."

Sebastian had blushed silently when their hands met around the empty teacup, and he looked up at the demon in surprise. A gift? That was completely unexpected. "…What?"

Claude nodded. "Yes, a gift," he said calmly, looking down at the empty cup. "If you would like it...I will offer you..." He seemed to struggle a little with it, then met the demon's blushing face. "...My name."

Red eyes widened. His name? That was no small thing. Even though demons could not control other demons with their name, most liked to keep it secret while up in the Mortal realm. He knew Claude knew his name. Malphas was, after all, one of the dark princes. But the offer spoke volumes of trust…and maybe even a little bit more. Slowly, Sebastian nodded, accepting the offer.

"Claude Faustus," said the spider demon, "is...not bad as far as chosen names go. 'Faust' after all, is quite powerful, but my name, my one true name..." Claude got up and slid onto the bed beside him. He rested a hand on his opposite shoulder, leaning in to him in the seductive manner of before. He had never told him his name-they had never met in Hell. It was only in the mortal realm that they first encountered each other. Of course, he knew Malphas right away. He leaned into the man's ear, flicking his tongue over it once more to let him know his name was Cimeries.

Sebastian shivered and turned his head enough to look at the other, "Cimeries…" he whispered, just to try it out, though he didn't quite understand why he did so. He reached up, running his fingers through Claude's hair.

Claude nodded. "And you know to be careful with it," he said, tilting his head to Sebastian's hand. He looked so cute in the nightdress. Claude drifted his hand across the ridge in the soft fabric.

Sebastian nodded, "I do, and I will be…as you have with mine," he muttered, leaning in as if to claim a kiss. But why? They had talked about how giving into lust would only cause him more pain…his feelings were just his illness getting to him, they weren't real…and yet…they were real. And he felt the draw to act upon them regardless of the risks. His hand slid up along Claude's pink pajama top and hooked lightly around his neck just before his lips brushed up against his.

Claude wasn't surprised to see reciprocation from Sebastian. He had...enticed him a little, after all. "Do you find it...a valuable gift?" he asked softly, his lips brushing back against Sebastian's instinctively. Of course, if they continued like this, they were going into lustful feelings, and yet, it grew harder and harder to pull away from him.

"Very much so…" Sebastian responded without pause, before nudging his lips firmly against Claude's with a small, barely noticeable hum.

"Ah...we should not..." Claude mumbled, even as his hands fingered the bottom of his dress, urging to climb higher underneath.

"…I don't care what we shouldn't do…" Sebastian muttered, his other hand finding the spider's thigh.

"I do... I told you how I feel...about this..." Claude murmured, but even then he had taken Sebastian by the shoulders and lowered him to the bed. He put his glasses aside, allowing his naked golden eyes to lust over the demon's form.

"And I disagree with it…" Sebastian responded, his voice taking on a low, seductive tone that almost sounded like a moan in itself. Normally, he would have smirked up at him as he was lowered back onto the bed, but instead his lips curled up into a small, genuine smile. "I think…you may question it yourself…"

Claude reddened faintly. "...You think it's easy to say no to a body like yours? _Skills_ like yours, Michaelis? Plus...a sweet little nightdress like that...I find myself hard-pressed to resist."

"For tonight…can't that be enough, Faustus?" Sebastian slowly licked his lips, then ran his tongue up along Claude's neck and under his jaw, "Why hesitate? Demons take what they want at any opportunity. Why pass this one by? You can have me, Cimeries. I'm offering myself to you…" His hand slid over the spider's rear and up his back, finding skin. It should be fine…for them to do this.

This strange feeling of love was his illness messing with him. Once he had Ciel's soul, he'd be back to normal and they could forget this night, saying it was just a time to feed their lust. It'd be alright in the end. Or that's what he was telling himself…rationalizing the fact that Claude would only be acting on lust and not a mutual feeling for him.

Claude bit his lip. Of course, that's all it should be, but for some reason he wasn't keen to treat Sebastian as just an object to be used and taken satisfaction from. He shivered when Sebastian's hands wandered over his skin and his breathing hitched as he began to feel quite pleasurable already. "...Nh.."

Sebastian paused, still seeing hesitation in the other demon's eyes, which only caused his heart to leap, "…Unless…there is something more…"

"Why are you okay with this?" Claude questioned. "You'd know my reasoning for this. You'd be giving yourself and your feelings to me, when all I should be doing is taking satisfaction."

Sebastian glanced away, "…Because once I have Bocchan's soul…these feelings will go away, right? I'll stop suffering these one-sided feelings and I can just chalk it off as an act of lust."

"Have you considered maybe the reason I haven't just taken you so far is because I'm not comfortable with this being just an act of lust?" Claude sat back, looking over him.

"Why?" Sebastian questioned, fearing the answer would be along the lines of the fact the spider didn't want him…that the talk about what he had to offer was simply to spare him more human feelings to help prevent another attack…

Claude shook his head. "While everything thus far has been revolving around you, have you stopped to consider that I..." He frowned, trailing away. "...We are not all the same, Michaelis. There is more to me than simply indulging idle pleasures." This was already way too far into the 'not wanting to admit to Michaelis' zone.

Sebastian sat up, his nightgown slipping up to reveal more of his bare legs, however unintentional, "Maybe it's my illness talking, but you are an extremely confusing man! One minute you are acting as if you feel only lust! The next you speak as if you may return my feelings! Which one is it? I'm tired of trying to guess!" He turned away, tears in his eyes, "…Either way, why does it matter?"

"I never said anything about feelings," Claude replied coolly. "I said that I may personally have my own issues regarding simple lust satisfaction with you, whoever said that was related to your feelings?" He frowned and tilted his head, hearing the waver in the man's voice. "Like I said, not everything is about you. Maybe I wasn't lying when I said it was better to have thawed ones emotions."

"Then maybe mine are too thawed! I can't…understand any of this. I don't know how to deal with it…" Sebastian fell back down onto the bed and curled into a ball, "…just go…"

Claude raised an eyebrow at the pitiful position. He stood wordlessly, hovering as if wanting to say something, then a tiny huff escaped him and he headed to the door. "Feel free to come to me in the night if you need anything urgently." He strode out the door, leaving Sebastian alone.

* * *

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Months passed with Sebastian having attacks, normally once a week, forcing him to go see Claude for treatment. Though they hardly spoke to one another. He would arrive, get his treatment, and then silently wait until he was physically able to leave once more, returning to his butler duties.

And yet, despite his anger and frustration with the spider demon, Sebastian found himself wishing they would speak again…hoping Claude would come visit, until one particularly cold winters night, while he put his young master to bed, he realized he hadn't had an attack in two weeks…two weeks of not even seeing the spider's face even once. He closed the door to Ciel's room and walked down the hall, pausing to look out a window at the snow slowly drifting down. He needed to see him. He turned and made his way to his bedroom and closed the door so no one would witness his leaving as he portaled over to the old Trancy Estate.

Blinking, he looked around. He was alone in one of the many vast hallways of the manor. Wondering why he hadn't arrived in the same room as Claude, he began to quietly walk down the hall in search for the spider.

Claude pretended he wasn't bothered by Sebastian's behavior to him over the last few months. They'd been completely professional and neutral with each other, and Claude found himself almost missing the little mentions Sebastian made of his feelings. Almost missing when he called him 'Claude', or when he leaned against him, almost desperately.

He missed the time when he didn't know how to comfort Sebastian so he'd just thrown his arms around him and held him tight. He still never understood why he'd done it. But he knew he wanted Sebastian happy, and feeling good. He didn't want him to be upset; that was all. And it had been a long fortnight without Sebastian's constant presence, enough that he actually felt unhappy without him on occasion.

He was in his music room. He'd spent a long time sipping tea and gazing out at the beautiful snow, but now he wanted to dance. He took up a violin, his most favored instrument, wearing nothing but a tight black outfit that clung to his flawless, muscular form. It had sleeves that shaped around his shoulder muscles, and shorts that accentuated his strong thighs. Barefoot in the room warm, fire lit room, he danced about slowly, his hands controlling the violin he held. A slow, mournful song sounded from the instrument as he danced. Pirouette, chasse, deboule, ballet was an art he had mastered and he enjoyed himself in the darkness, content and connected with the sound of the music.

The soft sound of the violin found Sebastian's ears and he turned to follow the sweet, yet sad tune being played ever so flawlessly without the crackle of a record. Was Claude playing it? Over time, he had popped in on the spider enjoying many pastimes, but never music. He found the room the music originated from and he pushed the door open, just enough to slip in and watch as the man danced and played. His ruby eyes following along his perfect form.

Sebastian was over the other side of the room, not quite far enough to be detected by the man enraptured. He continued spinning, performing a series of multiple pirouettes before moving into slower, graceful movements, the violin never faltering once. The moonlight just lit deep scars in the man's limbs. Single scars that ran the length of his limbs completely. Eventually his song finished with a long tremolo note, and he slowed, lowering the violin.

Sebastian let the silence settle before disrupting it; "Is there a reason for such a poignant melody to dance to?"

Claude straightened a little, surprised by his presence. "Michaelis," he stated, slowly approaching. "You do not like the tune?"

"I did not say I didn't…" he muttered, blushing slightly, "Just that it seemed a little…sad."

He entered the light, looking at Sebastian. Without thinking, he held his arms a little closer to his chest. "...Believe it or not, it is a little sad," he replied. "Did you know? I know how to feel sad too."

"You hide it well…as expected from a demon…" he muttered, stepping away from the door and approaching the spider.

"I don't have to hide it when I am alone," Claude replied calmly, inching back a little into the darkness. "You intruded on my private thoughts Michaelis. So I shall ask you...are you having an attack?"

"You should know I am not." He said looking away, racking his mind for a excuse as to his visit, then remembering his master's work, "As you yourself have visited without reason or warning before, I assume I should be able to do the same…I'll be leaving London with my Young Master. I thought you should know."

"Ah yes, I have visited without warning. But that is to check up on you, because you have a deadly illness. As far as I know, I do not. So there is no reason to come and check on me. ...So, you came to, what...say goodbye?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

His cheeks burned, "longer distances put strain on blood bonds. I thought you'd like a warning before it catches you by surprise. Also, should I be unable to come to you during an attack…"

"Then what? You'd like me to go to you?" he questioned, eyes glued to Sebastian's blushing face. Interesting reaction.

"For—" he stopped himself, what had he been about to say? To ask him to come with them? They were not lovers…not even friends. Of course the question was inappropriate and unwanted. "If it comes to that…"

Claude tilted his head, also wondering what he was about to say. "I will. That is part of the contract. And if I miss the cue when you start an attack, do your very best to find another means of contact." He kept his arms folded. How odd, though. He had mocked Sebastian on self-consciousness the first time he'd undressed him, and here he was, feeling the same way. How very, very odd.

He nodded, "I'll try. But other forms of contact are slow, so…try not to miss the cue." He said, allowing a flicker of fear to cross his face, "I'm…counting on you."

"I'll do my best," Claude replied simply. "It is my responsibility after all." His hand twitched beneath the other, as if he almost would reach out and touch him, but he did not.

He nodded and turned to the door, though he knew he could just reverse-portal himself back, "Claude…" he glanced back, unable to hold back the words, "I'm still struggling with these feelings for you…so…I hope you don't take my attitude towards you these past weeks as disrespect."

"…Oh?" the man replied after a brief moment of surprise. "...Then, just what has it been?" To hear Sebastian had been feeling these things still made him happy on the inside. "Trying to quash them?"

"Just because I feel like I—" he coughed, practically choking on his confession, "—love you…doesn't mean I can't be upset over what happened between us."

"...This is where I doubt the sincerity of your confession. It has been three months, Michaelis. Lovers...genuine lovers, they have this little thing called 'forgive and forget'. You do not seem to possess it." He began to walk along the hallway to get more proper clothes on.

"You rejected me, Faustus. That hurt. How can we be lovers when you don't return my feelings? Or even use me for your own lustful desires? Besides…I have forgiven you…just not myself…"

Claude paused. "...would you feel better if we satisfied each other, Michaelis? ...Would that make you...happy?" He bit his lip as he kept his step up.

"Three months ago…it would have…but now—I…" he sighed, Claude had seen him at his weakest many times, and already knew of his weak emotions…what was the big deal about admitting to it? "My feelings only seem to have grown deeper since then, Claude…I don't know if that would satisfy me anymore…I'd only want more from you…I'd want your heart in return…"

Claude couldn't take himself seriously, feeling vulnerable in the tight outfit revealing his flawed figure. He left him to dress properly, gathering his thoughts as he did so. "Shall I make you some tea?" he offered lightly.

"Please…" he muttered with a nod after having waited in silent thought for the man to change.

There was a couch in the music room, where Claude sat often to stare out the large glass window. Once tea was made, he beckoned Sebastian to sit with him. He said nothing for a long time, drinking his tea slowly, peacefully, as he watched over the snow-covered countryside.

After a while, Sebastian found himself leaning over, resting his head on Claude's shoulder, his cup of tea resting between both hands in his lap as he looked out at the serene scenery outside the window.

Claude didn't say anything to him for the most part. He didn't feel he had to. This display spoke just enough, to let him know that maybe there was something else he felt for Sebastian. They stayed together for a long time before Claude spoke softly. "I'm frightened."

The crow glanced up at the side of the other demon's face, frowning, "Of…what?" he asked gently, no hint of mockery or judgment in his tone.

Claude didn't break his gaze from the scenery. "Love," he spoke simply, raising the cup to his lips and taking a sip.

"…Don't blame you…" he said, lowering his gaze again, "It hurts." He sipped his tea, wondering if Claude really was having actual feelings for him…or someone else…the later was a painful thought in itself. What if that was why Claude hadn't taken advantage of him? He had feelings—for someone else?

"...I...almost wish I was a human, sometimes," the man said, never averting his gaze. "...I'd become a chef by my own talent. Become strong by my own talent. Make myself a good life, a good, short life, where I hadn't seen every sight a thousand times. Everything would be exciting and fresh and vibrant. And if I wanted, I could feel freely."

"…Claude…" he shifted around and looked at him straight on, "…do you…feel? Do you have feelings for someone?"

"I do. I have many feelings for you, Sebastian. But I cannot say what those feelings are. You heard some of them earlier." He took another sip of the hot tea, feeling it warm his insides.

"I…I didn't necessarily mean me…" The crow blushed, "As…long as you don't hate me…"

"I can say safely that my emotions are more thawed than you'd think. Even if we're not talking about love, I feel for you. I feel anger. Sorrow. Contentedness. Lust. A…desire to make sure you are alright." He couldn't believe he was saying this. "These are feelings too."

"Longing…protectiveness, dependency…My feelings aren't as simple as 'love' either. I…wanted to see you again…that…is the real reason I came…"

Claude sighed deeply and nodded. "I know," he said quietly. "I know." He put an arm around the man, simply holding him close.

The red-eyed demon rested in his arms for a few more moments of silence, "…Would you mind if I asked you a personal question?"

"I believe it depends on the question, so you shall have to ask it first," he said. There was a tea kettle on the little tray in front of him so he poured himself another cup.

Sebastian watched the man pour the amber liquid into his cup, his eyes fixed on the man's hands, "…Those scars…what are they from?" There wasn't much that could scar a demon's skin, so he couldn't help but be curious.

The demon paused. This was the last question he expected. He looked down his hands. The very tips of the limb-long scars could be seen at the tips of his shirt sleeves. "A ritual," he replied.

"…What kind? I've never encountered one that would leave such a mark…" he muttered, looking at the end of the scar, tempted to reach out and run his fingers along it, "You…you don't have to answer if you don't want to…"

"One that saved my life," the man replied, raising one sleeve and examining the deep, slightly purple scar in the flesh of his arm. "...After you ended it."

"…Oh…" he looked down, feeling uncomfortable, "…I am sorry about that…Orders…"

Claude's eyes narrowed faintly. "Right...I didn't have anybody to help me with the ritual either, so I nearly did die. The blood sacrifice was immense and I wasn't thinking straight. ...The seal had to be made on my body, and the sacrifice had to be given...so I combined it and carved the seal into my body, simultaneously presenting enough blood." He leaned back, "Probably too much...but it worked...and I survived."

"…I wouldn't blame you if you hate me…if helping me so I'd be in your debt was for revenge…" Sebastian said, looking down in shame. True, he hadn't cared much when he had received the order…but now he regretted it more than anything.

Claude cracked his wrist lightly. "Why, when I could torture and kill you myself?" he said calmly. "Of course...I could take you when you are at your weakest, and lock you down in the dungeon, do whatever I like with you. Maybe that is my intention."

"…Is it your intention? Is that the price I'll be paying?"

"What if it is, Michaelis? I suffered, trying to crawl my way back to life. Maybe it is what I have wanted. And if it is, would you deny me?"

"You…know I wouldn't…" he said, a cold shiver making it's way through his body, he looked away, "I owe you a price I can't pay, after all."

"Would you hate me if I took my payment that way?" Claude asked him, feeling him shiver and finally turning to glance at him.

"It depends…the way I am now…with these feelings…I can't blame you…I regret my actions towards you…I did something I can't take back or fix. I'd willingly, and sadly let you punish me for it. But if you wait until after I have fed…if these human feelings leave me…I don't know how I'd take it. I'd let it happen—perhaps reluctantly, but I don't know if I'd hate you."

Claude put his tea down, and he moved into Sebastian's lap. "It is honorable that you would do this. Honorable, and thus, unlike a demon. But if I had left well enough alone and stayed with the mediocre soul of Alois Trancy, I would not have died. So I do not blame you for killing me." A slight amount of lust flickered in his eyes, "Would it hurt you to lessen your debt right now?"

Slowly, the crow shook his head, "What would you have me do?"

"I'd..." Claude held his shoulders, looking him in the eyes. "Let me ...taste you," he whispered, his eyes shining. "Let me..drink from you..."

His eyes widened. The request, no matter how he was referring to it, was quite intimate. With burning cheeks, he nodded a slight consent.

Claude smiled. "...Just how...have you interpreted my request?" he whispered, trailing a finger along the man's neck.

"Two ways. Either of which…are fine. He shifted on the couch and loosened his tie, popping open the top two buttons of his shirt, "The first being blood… or the second…" he trailed his fingers down his body to his pants, fingering the button, his entire face on fire, "Though you probably meant the first."

"I could think of three," the man whispered, "and while...I would consume them all eagerly...what I want right now, is...the blood flowing in your royal veins." His fingers rested against the pulse in the man's neck. "You're a prince, so I am sure you taste delicious."

"No one yet has gotten a proper taste…you would have to tell me." he said loosening his shirt and waistcoat further to allow the spider full access without the risk of soiling his clothes.

Claude withdrew a letter opener from his pocket. "You're okay," he whispered. "It'll be alright. I won't waste it." He pressed the blade to his neck, nicking it and watching a steady amount of blood well up. He moved his mouth to the man's neck, taking a single lick and gasping.

"Ah…" An erotic shiver racked through Sebastian and he tilted his head to the side, cracking one eye open to look at the other, hearing his gasp after only a small amount.

Claude's eyes glowed brightly. He pushed his glasses aside to suck and lap at the liquid flowing slowly from Sebastian's neck. Still sitting in his lap, one of his hands slipped up to the other's exposed nipple. He gave a soft moan- there was no pretending this didn't arouse him because he'd gotten hard the second he'd tasted his sweet blood.

Shivers continued to rack through the crow, turning into waves of pleasure, "Gnnn! Cl-aude!" he gasped, gripping the man's sleeve tightly. All his feelings aside, he was being filled with lust and he pressed against the spider, his breath growing labored.

"Shh," the man whispered, a trickle of Sebastian's blood running down his chin. He rubbed his lower body against Sebastian's. However, even he was breathing heavily at this point. "N-nh...its alright," he crooned into his ear, then returned to suckling the wound for more of its precious elixir.

Sebastian took a shuttering breath and closed his eyes. Damn, how could this feel so erotic? He had seen a demon take another demon's blood before, but neither demons seemed to show any sign of the immense pleasure that came from it. They both acted as if it were nothing…and here he sat—no, lay. When had he fallen to the side with Claude on top of him lapping up his blood? Laying and writhing with pleasure from the feeling of Claude's tongue drawing more and more blood from his veins.

Claude started to scratch around his neck with his black nails. The other wound healed from his saliva inadvertently, so he made more wounds, moaning as he held Sebastian down on the couch and drank his blood deeply. He panted loudly, his thick length firm in his pants and rubbing fast against Sebastian. This was almost as good as a handjob, and surely enough he even climaxed because of it, an abrupt cry breaking from his throat.

"Gnnnh! Ah!" Sebastian wrapped his limbs around the spider on top of him, the temptation to dig his nails into his back growing—he wanted to bite, to kiss, to loose himself completely. But this wasn't them giving into lust…this was him offering blood in payment…yet temptation was so great… he moaned louder, grinding up against Claude.

The spider demon had not intended to reach a state of bliss high enough to climax, though he wasn't complaining by any means, he still wished he could control himself better. He scratched just once more, rather deeply, and a lot of blood began to run. While he lapped it up, he slipped his hand in Sebastian's pants and began to stroke him. It'd be embarrassing if he was the only one.

Sebastian himself was already hard, and his member throbbed when Claude's hand took hold and stroked it, "Claude!" he breathed against his ear, struggling to keep control—he felt like he would climax. How embarrassing to loose control like that from having his blood coaxed from his body…"Please—This is too—MuAHH!" his body arched up against the spider's as he, much to his embarrassment, overflowed into his hand.

Claude slowly sat up. He smirked a little as he extracted a semen-coated hand, and slowly began to lick that up too, his eyes never breaking from Sebastian's gaze. He'd made him come in his clothes aswell, just to make them even. He wiped his bloody mouth with a handkerchief, followed by his now wet fingers.

Sebastian's face was burning in embarrassment and he adverted his eyes. He couldn't understand why such a strong reaction had been coaxed so easily from him.

"What a nice face that is for you," Claude whispered, trailing a hand down Sebastian's slightly sweaty torso. "...Let's see…I've tasted your blood and your seed...maybe I should try the other kind~ Complete the set."

Still not meeting his gaze he nodded, "If…that is what you wish…" he muttered, still trying to calm his heart rate and breathing.

"How open you are willing to be," the demon remarked, his fingers trailing his cheek. "Tempting, yet...I believe you have had enough for today." He climbed off him, helping him sit up and fixing his hair for him. "Why are you so embarrassed?" he questioned in a gentle tone.

"I…we weren't even doing anything and yet I came as quickly as a virgin…" he muttered in a very low voice.

"Why are you surprised that even non-sexual things can arouse you?" he questioned. "You're a demon. You should be used to it by now. I came too, and...I helped you out a little, now didn't I?" He started buttoning the man's shirt for him.

"I've never let anyone taste my blood before. I didn't expect it to be so—erotic…" he muttered, "And yes, you did help it come sooner but…I should have still lasted longer…" he raised his eyes to meet the golden gaze of the spider, "You…seemed to enjoy yourself…"

"I should have lasted longer too, but, ah…I get carried away sometimes. I'm not going to make excuses for you, though. You enjoyed it too. It doesn't matter. Whatever gives us demons pleasure is good."

"Still…" he frowned looking down at himself, but then grinned, leaning in close to Claude, "I assume I tasted good, hmm, Faustus?"

The grin from Sebastian was something he hadn't seen in a long time. He watched it with interest. "As excellent as expected...both substances~ You were so sweet."

"I see…" he smirked and leaned in, liking up the residue of blood in he corner of Claude's mouth, "Then I'm glad you enjoyed it." He sat back on the couch and looked out the window, "…you could come, you know…On the trip…"

Claude bit his lip and glanced at him. "...Where exactly are you going?" he questioned, fixing his hair back up and replacing his glasses.

"Paris." He said, "We are leaving tomorrow…"

"...And you say you want me to come with you," Claude murmured simply, returning to his tea.

"If…you'd like too…Bocchan can't know…he had ordered me to kill you after all…but…" he blushed, "Will you come with me?"

"I..." Claude leaned back in the chair. "...I don't see why I should. Hiding out doesn't suit me very well, and ...I imagine you'll be able to contact me if you have an attack."

"I…yes, but…I'd like you to be there…" he muttered in a quiet admittance.

The demon was silent for a long time. Occasionally he licked his lips to get the remnant taste of Sebastian's blood. "...Do you…would you...be okay if...we were...if we became...friends?" he mumbled, reddening.

Sebastian nodded, really he wanted to be more than that, but…it was better than nothing, "I…won't object to it…"

The demon shivered. "I see you clearly don't appreciate the magnitude of such an offer on my part, Michaelis. Those small ways I display affection are not enough for you, hm?" He glared a little at him.

"I…I'm trying not to let my emotions take over, Claude…I don't want to chase you away with them…" he admitted, knowing full well how someone could be overly annoying and persistent with such things.

Claude scowled irritably. "Just then there was something in my chest, and it didn't feel nice. It hurt. I offer you _friendship_ , actual genuine friendship and you just...basically said you don't give a damn either way. How well received my offer was, how very inclined I am to make similar displays of affection in the future."

"That—That's not what I meant, Claude! I…I very much would like to…I just…this is all new to me…I'm sorry…I'll…I'll go…" he said, feeling on the verge of tears…like he would actually start crying uncontrollably. The tears were already burning the corners of his eyes.

"Just because I'm not saying 'I love you', does that render my affection invalid? Even if I put my arms around you again, does it mean anything to you if we're not lovers?" He gripped his wrist so he couldn't run anywhere.

"Of course it does…" he said, keeping his head turned away. No, don't cry. Demons don't cry…they never cry, so don't… A small sob shook from him.

"Then…I'll do it again," he said. "Because I know I care enough for you that we can be friends, at least." He took the tense younger man back into his lap and held him against his chest. He tilted Sebastian's head to him. "I won't say don't cry," he said, looking down. "Do it if you wish."

"I don't cry…" he muttered, leaning against the other demon and raised a hand to wipe a tear before it could run down his cheek. Then he slid his arms around him, silently letting them hold each other.

"I think we know that's not true, though," Claude replied. "But if you're going to hide it I can't stop you." He simply stroked his back.

"It's pointless…" he muttered, turning his face into the other's chest to further hide the evidence, "Don't even know why I'm…"

"You know that I won't speak a word," the man replied. "It is a rather natural reaction to upsetting situations."

He nodded, "…Claude…" Sebastian paused and pulled away enough to meet his gaze, "…If you won't come with me tomorrow…can I at least stay the night—until I must go to wake my young master?"

"With me?" the man said quietly, raising his face a little and brushing his tongue along the man's wet eyelashes, tasting his tears.

His cheeks took on a light pink hue under the trails of tears he hadn't been able to hold back, He had meant the question to be innocent, but… "If…you'll let me." he nodded.

Claude looked over him slowly. "...I'll let you stay with me tonight. And I'll go with you to Paris...if you show your tears now." He couldn't deny it- he wanted to see a man like Sebastian so emotional. But not in a mean way...Claude imagined he would look—and taste—beautiful.

It wasn't a hard request to fulfill, tears were still gathering in his eyes and threatening to spill over to run down his cheeks. All it took was a blink to let them loose. The small droplets running down his tinted cheeks as he inhaled, his lower lip quivering slightly as he looked at Claude full on, letting him see the tears shamefully streaking his face.

Claude just watched him, tilting his head in reverence as he watched the demon open up and cry. His hard golden eyes softened and he leaned in, gently licking the tears up as more quickly took their place.

Red eyes widened, the spider's gentle action enough to stop the quivering of his lip, though tears continued to form a moment longer. Being with Claude…was relaxing…calming…which was strange as he was the cause of the crow's emotional breakdowns. He closed his eyes, holding them closed until his tears stopped, the last one rolling down his cheek and getting caught in the corner of his mouth.

Claude kissed this last one. When Sebastian's eyes opened, Claude brought a handkerchief and dabbed at his face. "...Malphas," he murmured. "Never have you looked more beautiful, to me."

"…I feel like a child…" he muttered truthfully, tilting his head into the touch, he paused and met his golden eyes, "Cimeries…" he took Claude's hand and laced their fingers together, "If…I ever grow too much for you with my feelings…please just…tell me? I don't want to go too far and loose you completely…"

Claude looked down at the hand curiously. "...Your affection cannot hurt me," he replied. "...even if I say no one can love me, you're doing a decent job of convincing me otherwise. It's not such a bad feeling." He got to his feet. "I shall retire to bed in just a moment. You may join me, as promised."

He nodded and stood up, intending to follow the other, "Then, I will be joining you." He nodded.

"Speaking of which, I made a cute nightdress the other day that I think will suit you very well~" the man said, beginning his walk along the halls.

Sebastian frowned, "Am I to be dressed like a child every time I spend the night?" he asked as he followed him, his cheeks painted red with embarrassment.

"Not a child," Claude replied. "A woman, however...It is silken, black, with a red lace trim." He paused by his sewing room. Many outfits for women, men and children lay strewn about and hung up. He walked over to the particular outfit. "Certainly not innocent enough for a child~"

His eyes widened, "…Is this another condition of my staying here tonight, Faustus?"

Claude paused and looked at him. "It's not so bad, now is it? Surely you have no qualms about what sort of attire you wear...You wear heels, for goodness sake. And _I_ think it looks good."

"Heels are one thing women's clothing are another…" he muttered, eyeing the dress. There was no denying it was both attractive and well-made, but actually wearing such a thing himself… "I doubt I'll look as good as you think in it…" he reached out to take the nightgown from the demon and looked it over, "But…if you insist…"

"I think living among humans has had an effect on you," Claude mused. "Since when did you care about who can wear what? I'm almost disappointed. Next you'll be saying only women can cook, and that the homosexuals are unnatural."

"I have never been one to cross-dress. And if I ever even thought of the later two things you just said, I would be condemning myself as I rather enjoy cooking as I have already admitted to you, and I am rather attracted to other males, rather than females." He looked up at Claude from the garment in his hands, draping it over his arm, "Do you realize how many lower female demons have offered themselves as concubines? Each one turned down, and not because I lack the time for such things due to my illness."

"Ah, see, _I_ do not crossdress because it does not suit my body type. However, you are quite androgynous and I think such things look good on you. On the other note, I find this information interesting. "You prefer males to females? How unexpected."

He blushed, letting his eyes roam the room at all the different clothing he assumed Claude had made, "I have only ever laid with females while under contract in pursuit of different masters' wishes. The males I have laid with have been because of my choice and craving to indulge myself in lustful activities. I don't know why it is so unexpected…" he paused and looked back at Claude, "You think I have the body to pull off women's wear?"

"Feminine clothing," Claude corrected, "and I most certainly do. Come along with me now, we shall dress for sleep." Once they were in Claude's room, he went behind a cupboard to dress into a different pair of pyjamas- a grey cotton shirt and tracksuit pants. The scars on his arms were visible now. "I am similar," Claude replied. "I will only lie with a woman if I don't have a choice in the matter."

"It is natural for some. It is only human kind who think it is wrong and unnatural." Sebastian said, pulling the gown on over his head and letting it flutter down around his body before stepping out into view and making his way over to the bed.

Claude glanced him over. "As expected. It fits your form flawlessly and shows off your slender physique. Very nice." He excused himself to the bathrooms for a minute before returning and setting his glasses aside on the bedside table.

"It is rather comfortable." The crow commented, lifting the corner of the blanket and sliding beneath the sheets.

"A lot of the clothes I design are inspired and influenced by those of the shinigami," Claude commented. "As such they may seem quite unfamiliar to the clothes worn by society. But I think they're much nicer and much more practical. I should show you them sometime." He also slipped into the bed beside him.

"And how would you know the sleepwear of the reapers?" Sebastian smirked, relaxing into the pillow and rolling over to look at Claude on the opposite side of the bed.

Claude smirked back. "We have our secrets~" he teased back. "My, my... It has been a long time since I've had a man warm my bed, Mr. Michaelis." He lay back against the pillows.

"What? Were you at one point involved with a reaper? Sebastian teased, though a hunt of jealousy shown through his words, "…I don't think I've ever shared a bed like this. I hardly ever took the time to sleep until recently."

"Rather, I caught myself a little pet to slake my lust. I discarded him when I grew tired of him, though in hindsight, perhaps I vaguely regret it?" He caught himself rambling and turned his lamp out. "Anyway...goodnight." He rolled over, pulling the covers up.

The crows eyes widened, "G-goodnight…" he rolled over, putting his back to the other to create the illusion of privacy while sharing a bed. But he didn't close his eyes and drift off. No, he instead lay awake, his mind running wild with thoughts he normally wouldn't think.

Claude regretted letting go of his reaper 'pet'? Maybe the spider had fallen for the reaper…and the reaper ran away with his heart. Maybe that was why Sebastian had no chance with him; he was hung up on that past man… Unlikely, but Sebastian couldn't help but think it and the thought plagued him for hours until he felt emotionally sick.

* * *

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Claude drifted off to sleep rather fast and his breathing deepened. Sleeping around another demon was dangerous, but he felt, despite everything, that he could trust Sebastian not to take advantage of him. Sleeping was one time demons were vulnerable, even to themselves. Dark thoughts and memories garnered over the centuries buried deep in the subconscious could rise to the surface in his sleep.

He could have nightmares.

They didn't happen every night. They weren't even overtly common, but Claude had opened up emotionally just a little today, and he was especially susceptible to nightmares that night. Sure enough, his deep breathing became shallow and quick, and his skin became cold and clammy. He began to toss and turn.

Sebastian's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of the demon beside him shifting uneasily, and a small whimper caused him to roll over, eyeing the man as he struggled in his sleep. "…Claude?"

The spider demon began shivering. He lay on his back, his eyelids flickering. "N-nnh..no.." Fear flashed over his features, unrestrained. " **No, stop, please stop** ," he pleaded in the demon tongue, gasping and writhing in the sheets. For a few minutes this continued and sweat now covered his skin as he trembled. ".. **Stay back**..!"

"Claude!" Sebastian sat up and crawled over to the other, grabbing his shoulders, trying to wake him, "Claude, wake up!" he frowned when the other hardly seemed to realize he was there, "Cimeries!" he strengthened his grip and shook him a bit harder, but not to much to throttle him.

There was a sharp gasp of breath as the man jolted from his sleep. Clawed hands grabbed Sebastian's shoulders and nearly hurled him across the room before reality set in just a little. He let go of him and his hands wrapped around himself as he sat up, breathing hard, still shivering.

Sebastian watched him with wide eyes, hesitating before reaching forward, but pausing before his hand made contact with the spider, "Claude…are you all right?" he asked slowly, not wanting to upset him. He knew when Ciel would awaken from nightmares, that any sudden contact would only cause the boy to lash out. And if Claude was the same…he was no human boy. He could do some serious damage to the concerned crow.

The man's claws scratched lightly against his arms as he held himself, trembling. Then he raised his palms to his eyes, brushing at them as if tears were about to fall. "…Christ..." he whispered, slowly raising his eyes and looking around the room nervously, barely even seeing Sebastian at this point.

Seeing his tears, the feelings inside Sebastian tugged at him painfully until he couldn't ignore it any longer and he shifted closer yet, pulling the man into his arms and holding him close, "…It's okay…it was a dream…"

"Be quiet," the man hissed at him once the fear faded away. "I'm fine, it was just a stupid...a-a stupid…" He still seemed to have difficulty controlling his breathing. "N-nhh..."

"…We both know that's not true…" he whispered, "A demon's nightmares are never stupid…there is too much meaning in them…too many memories…" he pushed a lock of dark hair out of his eyes.

Claude slowly looked up at him, his eyes just a little wet, one hand finally returning the embrace just a bit. "...if you...speak a word of this...to anyone..." he whispered.

"Then you have full rights to tell anyone and everyone about my tears and weaknesses." He said gently, "I won't tell."

Claude could threaten him, but he wasn't in the frame of mind for it. He reached for a glass of water beside the bed, drinking deeply from it, then lay back against the pillows. This time he faced Sebastian.

"If…you ever need to talk about something…I…You can talk to me. I'll keep it secret…" The crow muttered laying down next to him, a little closer than he had previously.

"Sometimes, I think it's better that we do not talk," the man replied in a voice barely above a whisper. "Sometimes it feels better that way." He took a few deep breaths, slowly meeting his eyes.

"I…just…You are always here for me when I need you…I...I want to be here for you too…Just…" he reached out and caressed the spider's cheek, "…remember I'll be here…"

Claude's eyes glowed a little in the darkness, and he looked at the hand on his cheek. "...Malphas," he said quietly. "...it was terrible. My nightmares are terrible." He decided he could trust Sebastian this far, and that was quite a step for him.

The crow gave a small, sad nod, not wanting to push the other into talking about it…letting him open up at his own pace. He rubbed his thumb in light circles on Claude's cheek, never breaking eye contact.

The man kept his eyes open—to close them would be submissive, and he felt pitiful enough. "I dream of _them_. Right here in the room with me. At the foot of the bed." He swallowed. "The things that even demons fear."

A cold chill ran down Sebastian's body, "…The Void?" he choked out; had the man had a run-in with them? He almost had to. The void wasn't something that _simply_ appeared in nightmares…

"Shh," the man cut in. "...do not speak of It." He curled up against the pillows, shivering lightly. "Its all-encompassing shadow...it...holds me down...I can't move…I can barely breathe...it is terrifying.." Without thinking, his hand curled around Sebastian's.

"It is…for all of us…Claude…have they…have you encountered one?" he asked in a worried voice.

His hand gripped tighter. "…In a way," he said softly. "One of my many brothers, though...He got himself involved in...grim sorts of things. As a child, we heard from him as he slowly went mad. For months, there was always...something...lurking in the corner of his vision. He would see things in the dark. Shadows. He'd have horrible visions and flashes...and eventually they came for him." He sighed deeply. "I, and my brethren, watched him be taken by it."

The cold shiver that assaulted Sebastian's body from Claude's words was enough to be visible had he not been hidden under a blanket, "Claude…I…I'm sorry…" More than sorry. A fate involving the Void was something even the most heartless demon wouldn't dare wish upon any soul of any kind…even angels. It was almost taboo to do so.

"It was his fault," the man replied. "He shouldn't have messed with those sorts of things, and he paid the price. Many of my brothers are dead now, but the ones that live, they and I...will never forget it. I don't think the memories shall ever dull." He dipped his head, averting his eyes. "But it was only him they wanted. I am thankful for that, every day."

Sebastian squeezed his hand, "I am too…" he brought his hand to his lips and gingerly pressed a kiss to his fingers.

He could feel Sebastian had a slight tremor too, and he just rolled the man against him, entwining their legs without a word. For once it was him seeking comfort, and a man wanted to give it to him. "Just..."He squeezed him close.

Without thought, Sebastian encircled his arms around him, settling down as they held onto each other, "…I understand…" he said simply.

Claude lay with him for a long time. "Better than…having to do this alone again," he whispered, his head touching Sebastian's. "You know I'll kill you if you ever speak a word of this, though. I mean it."

"Of course…"

Eventually though, Claude got the better of himself and detached from Sebastian, rolling back over and going to sleep. Sebastian frowned, feeling a little sad when the other pulled away, but he curled up and let sleep take him.

Claude awoke the next morning with the Phantomhive butler beside him, the black nightie had risen up over his thighs, showing off his underwear. This was quite a sight for Claude to wake up to, but he was not above staring at the shape in his black panties. It was tempting to reach down, nuzzle it with his cheek, gently suck the end of it through the cloth...stroke it… The thought made him bite his lip. How tempting.

Sebastian gave a short hum and stretched before his eyed opened, blinking away the effects of sleep. He slowly sat up and looked over at Claude, wondering why he had such a look on his face. And then his eyes trailed down, realizing his gown had risen up in his sleep, showing off his rather propionate case of morning wood. Blushing, he shifted the nightgown down his legs more. "…Morning."

Claude raised a sleepy eyebrow. "Good morning," he replied. Of course, the shape was still quite obvious. Curse Sebastian to have such a magnificent body. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, and I hope you did as well." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and looked to the clock across the room, "I'll have to dress and leave soon to awaken Bocchan for the trip." He said, saying nothing about the events of the night before.

Claude certainly didn't intend to bring it up—ever again, if he could help it. "Very well. I'll be off to prepare some breakfast. I don't expect you'll be staying, now?" His eyes still looked over the tent in the nightdress, though he was more subtle now.

"I can't. I must prepare for the young master's trip and make sure the other servants know what to do while we are gone." He said, standing up.

Claude's eyes followed. "Yes, very well," he remarked. "As promised...I will accompany you. In the shadows, of course. I'll find you...do not worry about that."

Sebastian walked over to where he had left his uniform neatly folded, and picked it up to take it with him to change, returning fully dressed, and his messy hair tamed back down, "Well then, I'll see you in Paris."

"Bon voyage et au revoir," the man replied, now dressed too and in the process of combing his hair. He watched the uniformed man leave the room. In truth, Claude did not miss those butlering outfits.

Sebastian left and quickly tended to things before he woke Ciel. After the earl was ready for the day, he, Sebastian, and Faelan all left, loading onto a ship for Paris.

Claude was quite leisurely. He spent the morning packing his things, and he knew when he boarded the ship that Sebastian was already aboard the ship, the contract told him before he scented him.

Sebastian followed Ciel along the upper deck of the ship, pausing when he felt Claude's presence, a small smile upturning his lips.

Claude kept to himself, of course. Mostly he stayed in his quarters, because he didn't want to risk an unexpected encounter with Sebastian's master, who thought him dead. Not to mention...Claude did not do well around a soul of such quality.

Things seemed to run smoothly until the third day aboard the ship; Ciel was socializing with a group of Dukes and Lords also traveling to France, and Sebastian respectfully stood behind him in line with the other butlers. The conversation was incredibly dull to listen to, so he let his mind wander.

Suddenly, the all too familiar feel of an attack struck him rather hard, nearly bringing him to his knees. Gasping, he hunched over, holding his cramping stomach, "M-My Lord…might I be excused a moment?" he gasped, trying to hide the pain in his voice.

Claude felt the faintest pangs of seasickness that would probably have been much worse if he was a human. He decided to go up and get some fresh air, and he'd been enjoying himself for several minutes out on deck when nausea that most certainly was not seasickness assaulted his senses and he grasped the railings.

Ciel brushed Sebastian's request aside for a vague moment, not even glancing at him. He'd never seen Sebastian have need of anything humans did. He ignored him.

Sebastian grit his teeth, the motion of the ship bringing his nausea to a higher level than normal. Normally when Ciel brushed him aside, he would stand back as a dutiful servant. But he couldn't ignore it this time. "My Lord, please…I need to go…"

Ciel slowly turned his gaze to the man, who looked on the verge of being sick everywhere. He stepped back habitually, looking worried. "What's wrong, Sebastian?" No way he'd get seasick, of all things, right?

"I don't…feel so well, sir…please, allow me to take leave…" he pleaded, turning a rare vulnerable look at his master, his breathing growing heavy.

Ciel tilted his head, drawing his butler away from the men. "Just tell me, are you seasick, or..." He observed the way he clutched at his stomach, "Eaten something you shouldn't?"

Claude was already on his way down.

"No—" he suppressed his urge to throw up, "I'm afraid it's more serious than that…" he vaguely explained, truthfully. After all, he had been ordered to never lie to him.

Nonetheless, he didn't look that bad at this point, and as his demon butler he should never be interrupting meetings like this. "I need you here, though," Ciel explained.

"Sir…I—would highly advised against it…" he groaned, gripping a railing tight to hold himself up, his arm and legs trembling. Before he could say more, his strength gave out to the pain and he collapsed.

Faelan watched on nervously. "Sir, please let Mr. Sebastian go," he said, slightly panicked.

"Go? He needs a doctor," Ciel said. "Go and get him one."

Faelan hesitated, watching Sebastian in agony on the ground, knowing he needed his demon. Faelan had detected another demon aboard the ship...perhaps this was that one. So where was he?

Sebastian looked up at Faelin, silently telling him he did have help on the ship somewhere. The problem was, his still being under his master's watchful eye, where Claude would be seen when he finally appeared. "My—Lord…Gnhh! A d-doctor…won't—"

The lights went out in the room, leaving them in pitch darkness and when they went back on; Sebastian was gone. Faelan visibly sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, Claude had rushed Sebastian down to his own quarters, knowing the man must be mortified at showing such a shameful face in front of his master.

Groaning in pain, Sebastian clung to Claude as he was hurried down to Claude's room, "Sm-art move…with the l-lights…" he managed to say as he was set down on the bed in the small room.

Claude didn't say much until the potion was brewing. He'd prepared a makeshift station with which he could make everything he needed. "I'm supposed to be dead. It can't hurt to stay that way for as long as possible...though your master would be curious as to where you went." He finished up, handing him the potion firstly then getting to work on the tea.

Sebastian drank down the potion, grimacing at the taste and setting the bowl down, waiting for it to take effect before he replied, "He'll be asking questions again…I don't know how long I can continue to keep my condition from him."

"And you're bound not to lie to him. That is a predicament on your part, but it doesn't change the fact that contracts can't be broken. He's stuck with you." The tea was finished too, and he mixed the herbs into it this time, bringing it to his lips systematically.

The crow sipped down the tea and slid his hand around the cup, brushing his slender fingers along Claude's hands. "He is…but still, to let him know I have such a weakness…I'm sure You would not have liked young Trancy to know of your weakness if it was you with such an illness."

"I understand, Michaelis. I believe I protect my dignity even more than you do." He didn't draw his hands back, letting the other man's fingers touch his.

"…Then perhaps I need to learn from you." He said in a low voice, gazing down at their hands.

Claude shook his head. "Believe it or not...I actually prefer you this way. Perhaps it makes it easier for us to emotionally connect." He slowly drew his fingers back. "If that's what you'd like. I…I mean, surely _some_ is involved. If we are friends."

"I…would only maintain such protection around my masters and any outsiders…You…You already have gotten to know me on a level never achieved before…I see no reason to shove you back once more."

"Good," Claude murmured. "I...have enough respect for everything else that you are. I doubt anything you have to say could faze me," he replied, glancing away. "You may be open with me. I welcome your emotional advances."

Red eyes widened, and a smile curled upon his face as he lowered his cup of tea to the small table next to the bed, "You do, do you?" he slowly leaned in closer to him, "Then allow me to thank you properly the way I have been wanting to." His lips met with Claude's, pressing a firm kiss to them.

Claude could not say without doubt that he wasn't expecting this, but it still came as a surprise when he felt the man kissing him. He remained there for a minute, feeling his soft and skillful lips that tasted of spearmint and tea. "Of course, we must learn to differentiate between emotional advances and romantic," he mumbled. "Demons rarely kiss, you know..." He licked his lips.

"…I know. It doesn't mean I don't wish to with you. But I'll not take things further, as you have made it clear you are not interested in such things on an emotional level."

The demon's eyes averted and he was silent in his thoughts while they waited for Sebastian's paralysis to wear off. "...I care...for you," he said simply. "...I do like these things that we do. But I don't want you to think that it's more than it is. That would hurt you, and that's not what I want to do."

"I…know you do not mean more. I simply assumed you were allowing me to do such things with you in order to keep me calm and safe from another attack…" he admitted, "And…if you care for someone else how I care for you…I'll respect that."

The ex-Trancy butler leaned in closer to him. "More like...I do it because I know you appreciate it, and I like it too," he confided. Where had he gotten the idea that Claude was interested in somebody else? "...And...if I cared for somebody that way...I know you would respect it." He closed the distance between them and gave him a soft kiss.

Sebastian couldn't help but move his fingers up into Claude's hair during the soft, short kiss. "…Claude…you make it hard for me not to confess my feelings again to you."

Claude sat back and gave him a gentle look. "I am sure it is difficult, feeling the way you do," he said in a sympathetic tone. In truth...he was beginning to question how he truly felt about Sebastian.

"It is…I promise you it is." He muttered, "But…maybe it's best this way between us. If you did feel the same…My life is limited, and I'd only be taken from you in the end." He muttered.

"No," Claude said firmly. "I...will not let you die. Even if I'm doing this a million years from now, I am still content. And maybe one day, I shall find you a cure. Maybe I can make one myself." His fingers trailed the man's collarbone.

"You'll…stay with me that long? I…had feared this was only until I grant Bocchan's wish…" he asked in obvious surprise, resisting the urge to throw his arms around the spider.

"He is not relevant between us. Not anymore. Until the day you cast me aside in disinterest, I'll continue to help you. That is simply my desire. This has been an interesting development in my unexciting life."

"I can't see why I would ever cast you aside, Claude. But I can see how you have every reason to do so to me."

"But instead...I find us growing closer each day," the man replied, lying back on the bed and stretching out eloquently, golden eyes staring calmly up at him.

He blushed and looked down at him, slowly laying back on his side as he gazed at the golden eyed demon, "That…it makes me happy to hear that…" he said in a soft voice, smiling slightly.

"If it also makes you happy," the demon said evenly, "you may touch my body some." He didn't break his gaze.

"You…trust me to control myself in doing such? I've not been all that good at not touching you at all before now…" he muttered, running his fingers along Claude's arms, "I keep finding myself indulging in small actions…like earlier with the teacup."

"I never pretended that I didn't want to touch you, Mic—Sebastian. I do. My eyes wander without restraint sometimes," he said quietly.

"I've noticed. But many people do so, even when they are not interested." He shifted closer, running his fingers along the demon's exposed neck, feeling his pulse for a moment before dragging them down his chest and side, "It is hardly an invitation to touch."

The man groaned just a little. "That's why I'm giving you one. I want to be touched by you. I am _requesting_ that you do this. We both want it, don't we?" He was hardening noticeably.

"More than you can imagine…" the crow muttered, taking notice of the bulge forming in the other's pants, tempting him lower. But he kept his touch appropriate and gentle, creating a sense of intimacy.

It was important, for Claude, that their touches be intimate. He was testing himself, seeing if he could feel that same way. They'd already been gentle and intimate...a few days before when they'd sat together on the couch, taking comfort in each other's presence. And that night... "...so touch me..."

His cheeks reddened and he obeyed, just as fast as if it had been an order from his master, only it was from his own eagerness to please Claude, rather than his fear of punishment for failing an order. He maneuvered himself up to press himself flush against the spider's side, his numb body allowing for little more movement than that, and he reached over to cup his cheek, turning his head to gain access to his sweet lips. His hand then trailed down his chest, pinching open buttons and exposing his chest before he dipped in beneath the restraints on Claude's pants; pausing to see if he'd be denied going that far, though his own member had grown quite hard and felt painfully restricted in his own pants and pressed against Claude's leg.

Claude's eyes fluttered closed. He knew Sebastian was still numb, but he still managed to be skillful. How like Sebastian. It was just one step after another for Sebastian, the shirt then the pants. For Claude it was tense, like a lifetime. He hadn't gotten naked for a man in decades and an odd sound escaped him when Sebastian exposed his chest. He hated the scars—they didn't even look like a seal, just long, ragged lines. But he knew he wouldn't be alive to hate them if he didn't get them in the first place. Claude habitually rolled his hips to Sebastian, feeling their clothed erections rub against each other as his nipples hardened in the air.

Not receiving any indications that he'd be denied; Sebastian drove his hand down further, his fingers encircling the hardened member he found there. He slid his hand along it, mentally measuring the Spider's size. And though he did not break the kiss, his cheeks darkened more and his eyes snapped open in surprise. Higher-ranking demons were all well endowed; himself included, but Claude Faustus was even more-so. He moaned and gave it a firm stroke, grinding up against him as he did so.

"Hn," Claude remarked in amusement, rubbing right back. "You look surprised." One hand ran down Sebastian's back, slipping around to undo his shirt too and starting to massage the perky nipple he found. The other gripped the back of Sebastian's thigh, pulling the man closer against him, trapping the demon's hand between their pelvises as they rubbed against each other.

"You're…a bit larger than I had imagined…" he admitted in an airy groan. He had, after all, imagined—dreamed—about the other demon many times… "Larger…than I've encountered on a personal level…"

"Ah...is that so?" the man questioned. "I often hear comments to that effect. I didn't expect it from _you_ , though." He straddled the man's hips deeply, doing anything to keep Sebastian's arousal pressed against his own, causing delicious friction.

"Mmmnnh…Normally…I wouldn't say anything…" he admitted again, grinding back against him, "Nhh…" All this touching was testing his limits—not just his emotional limits, but his demonic ones as well. Temptation. The spider was practically generating it.

Claude lay back against the pillow. "Well, you're in control here, Michaelis. What you do, and how you do it...is completely up to you." Would Sebastian touch him lovingly, or lustfully? Claude was curious. Either way, it felt good. One eager hand brushed over the front of his own trousers, palming himself absentmindedly.

Sebastian took a moment to think of what he wanted…his desires, and finally, he pressed a deep kiss to the man's lips, whispering a warning, almost shyly when he broke it, "I don't want to hear a word about this…" With that, he shifted down with difficulty, prying open Claude's pants and tugging them down to expose his erection. He lay between the spider's legs, looking at it before leaning in and, for the first time for another demon, he took him into his mouth in an act of lust. But at the same time, his emotions played a big part. Before he'd never lower himself between another demon's legs like this. But if he were to do much more, he wanted it to mean something. He wanted it to be special between himself and Claude.

Claude's skin prickled as Sebastian's mouth enveloped his length, his hips hitching upwards a little. "...Allow me to ask…just one question...The, ah, dark prince intends submit himself to one of the lower classes?" he whispered, his fingers stroking Sebastian's hair. "Be sure I have noted the magnitude of this gesture."

He met Claude's gaze, seeming to nod slightly, confirming the answer to the question before taking more of him into his mouth until he could fit no more, his tongue swirling around Claude's manhood and wetting every inch of it before he started to drag his lips back up the shaft, then down again, building up a rhythm, every so often, disrupting it with a small scrape of his teeth or a low hum in the back of his throat.

The demon's eyelids fluttered as Sebastian started to pleasure him. His fingers took a tighter grip in Sebastian's hair as he gracefully rolled his hips towards the wet cavern of his mouth. His breath grew heavier, he started to pant lightly. Sebastian was flawless at this, of course, and it was mind blowing. "A-ah…" He covered his mouth lightly to stifle his moans as he met Sebastian's rhythm, growing faster with each dip of his head.

"Nn...!"

Sebastian slid his hand down, cupping his balls as he continued to suck at his length, massaging them as he did so, and then, he quickened his pace, hollowing his cheeks to tighten the pressure around Claude, "Mmmmm…"

A blush crept over Claude's cheeks, and he let out a desperate sound as one hand found the one massaging him, and he moved it lower, letting him know he wanted to feel his fingers massaging him there. It hadn't been a great deal of time but he felt himself drawing close with a powerful orgasm. "Malphas," he panted, making no effort to hide his arousal now.

Sebastian complied, his lips and tongue continuing to coax Claude to climax. His free hand gripped his thigh and he shifted, changing the angle as he massaged his fingers over Claude's lower regions.

Claude trembled noticeably as Sebastian's fingers rubbed his entrance tantalizingly. He gasped out, grabbing his shoulders and scratching eagerly at his skin. "Close," he whispered. "Nn...gods…"

He didn't let up, fully intending to milk every drop of the spider's seed out. If he was going to lower himself to do this for Claude, he was going to do it properly; his lips never ceasing in coaxing the demon to his release.

Claude's control was lost in split seconds as Sebastian continued to pleasure him endlessly, flawlessly. He arched back suddenly and scratched deeply across Sebastian's shoulders. "N-nnh, agh!" He was quiet about it, but the orgasm was powerful and copious. He shot hot seed hard inside Sebastian's warm mouth, body jerking spasmodically with each burst.

"Mm!" Sebastian reached up, holding down Claude's hips to prevent himself from gagging as he swallowed down each burst of seed that shot out onto his tongue, but he held Claude in his mouth the whole time until he was sure the spider was done. Slowly, he let him fall from his lips and swallowed the remaining load resting on his tongue, panting slightly, his jaw aching and tired.

Claude took hold of Sebastian's backside again, shifting the man until he was lying against his chest, hot and flustered, even beads of sweat lightly covering his forehead. He pressed an affectionate kiss to his forehead. "That was excellent," he said truthfully. "...appreciated."

Sebastian's light blush grew darker when Claude gave him the light kiss to the forehead, and he gave a small smile before nuzzling his cheek into the crook of his neck, not saying anything. It had been a blow to his pride, but he barely felt it. No, personally to him, it was a way to show Claude his feelings in a way the other could understand.

Claude sighed. "I'm still afraid," he said after a long silence of just lying with the demon. "You're right…If I loved you, you might die on me. I mightn't be able to save you... And I can't... Deal with that heartbreak." He rested a hand against the man's head. "And I couldn't live with myself if I let you die."

The crow turned his head to look at him, "…You won't let me die…" he gently muttered, "I trust you'll do everything to…to keep me…And if I still…It won't be your fault." He hugged him, "I think…if anyone can find a cure…it's you, Cimeries."

Claude gave him a gentle look. "...I'll look for one. The truth is...you have become my closest friend. And it feels rather good so far. Time can only tell what happens from this point on, but I'm enjoying my time with you." He felt Sebastian hugging him and slipped his arms around him in return.

Sebastian smiled, "I'm glad for that. That you can enjoy this time we have together…that you see me as a friend." He slid his fingers along Claude's chest, tracing mindless patterns against his bare skin, watching as Claude's skin reacted to the touch.

"Ah...considering you're moving better now, perhaps you should return to your master. No doubt he is concerned." He sat himself up.

"…I'm sure." He sat up and ran a hand through his hair to fix it, then set to work on his uniform, "Might I meet you on deck after Bocchan is in bed?" he asked, slowly standing up. His body was still numb, but at least he could support his own weight.

"On deck?" Claude echoed, almost reaching a hand out to steady him. "That doesn't sound so bad." Immediately the hidden romantic in him had thoughts of a dinner by the ocean, but such thoughts were surely ridiculous. "I can make that appointment."

Sebastian smiled wider, "I'll probably be late. He is most stubborn when it comes to going to bed while away from the manor. But I'll meet you as soon as I have finished." He promised.

"Very well," Claude replied. "The best of luck with what is to come, regarding Ciel Phantomhive." He helped the man to the door with a hand on his back, like last time.

"Thank you." He nodded reaching for the handle, but pausing before he pulled the door open, his eyes sliding up to meet Claude's before he leaned over and pressed a small kiss to his cheek. He then left swiftly, closing the door behind him as he turned to return to his master's side.

Claude closed his eyes for the little gesture then, turning back, he sighed; knowing he was on the verge of giving in to Sebastian's earnestly and genuine emotion. Especially when he thought back to watching his tears course his cheeks the visit...he was so beautiful then, it made Claude's heart flutter. Yet he still held back from him.

* * *

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Sebastian pulled the covers up over Ciel's small body, tucking him in the way he did every night. He had been surprised when he returned to Ciel and was met with silence rather than questions. Though he could tell that his young master was quite cross with him. He could feel the boy's anger, and it only made him wonder further why he wasn't being questioned as to his disappearance or his sickness. But, he didn't bring it up as he did rather keep such things to himself. There was no point in encouraging such an undesirable topic to be brought up.

Wishing the boy a good night, he blew out the candles next to the bed and walked in the darkness to the door, leaving the room before checking his pocket watch for the time. Surprisingly, though he could assume it was because of Ciel's sour attitude, he had gotten his master to bed on time, and had a few minutes before he was to meet Claude up on deck He walked through the lavish sitting room of Ciel's suite, and removed his tailcoat, hanging it neatly in a closet and changing into a more casual suit before leaving the suite. He made his way up to the deck and stepped out into the cool, salty air. He wondered about the deck until he finally spotted Claude's figure near a railing, looking out at the calm seas surrounding the ship. He smiled inwardly and approached, leaning against the railing next to him, his red gaze also looking out over the waters so smooth it reflected the stars above them, "Good evening."

Claude had also dressed for the occasion. He had showered before hand and donned a smart, sleek casual suit, yet another shinigami-based design. Now he smelt faintly of vanilla bean, or more accurately, the smell of baking. It was not reflective of his cool, hard personality, but instead a more inviting scent, solely chosen for Sebastian. He turned his eyes to the man as the gentle sea breeze brushed through his dark violet hair. He observed Sebastian's appearance and gave a nod of greeting, wondering what Sebastian had intended for such an encounter. "It is certainly a lovely night."

"It is." He nodded, letting his secret, inward smile to leak out and visibly curl his lips, "Thank you for meeting me out here." he turned to look at the demon, "It truly was a spur of the moment invitation, but it couldn't be a better night for such a rendezvous."

"...And what, may I ask, does this rendezvous entail?" he asked in a smooth, curious voice, turning to give Sebastian his full attention now. His fingers ran lightly through his hair.

"I hadn't the time to plan it out…" The crow admitted, "But I would think taking simple pleasures of an unplanned meet should be enjoyable in itself. Humans do such all the time, after all." He let his eyes roam down Claude's body, taking in his outfit and giving a small chuckle as he reached out to straighten the man's slightly askew tie, "One might think you were once a reaper with how much you dress as one outside of contract. You've even the glasses." He commented.

"Ah, I hope you intend to impress me somehow," the man smirked. "I am much better than a reaper, of course...even if you try to liken me to them. Or should I say; _him_. In such a case, I shall employ the effective counter tactic by saying that I am much older than him, therefore _he_ looks like _me_." He gave him a cocky look. "Who do you think is more attractive? William the reaper or Claude the demon?"

Sebastian's cheeks darkened, "I did not mean to compare you to that reaper. I hadn't even thought of him. I was merely commenting on your taste in clothing. And while he does have good looks, I can honestly say he has not caught my eye in such ways." He straightened up and met the spider's golden gaze, "While I am quite attracted to your looks while you maintain your human form, I assure you that your body and handsome face is not what made me fall for you as I have."

"My," Claude remarked. "You've certainly got your silver tongue working tonight. But it begs the question of what _has_ attracted you to me...I am very curious in what it is you think you see in me." He began to walk along the ship deck, up to the stern, where he leaned over the edge to see the water churning and making whirlpools down below.

Sebastian followed a few steps behind him, "…You have a gentle side I am not accustomed to seeing in demon kin." He said, "You genuinely care about things and take care of them. Myself is only one example of it. I do not know if you are aware of it yourself, but…you do. Yet it doesn't weaken you or hinder your status as a demon, it doesn't make you any less cruel. You have found a balance no other demon has, and that drew me in to you. Made me want to get to know you on a deeper level…and ultimately, forced me to push aside my natural lust for you in favor of love."

Claude spread his arms on the railings. "Well...I hadn't expected that as an answer. But love is foreign to me, I have no clue on how to approach or understand it. To appreciate my lighter, some say gentler side...I suppose it makes sense that a man forced to feel emotions may be attracted to that in another demon. Especially as it is I who has saved you and have been helping you. I understand where it comes from now…I think." He continued staring down into the water. "...The question is, if I cure you, would these feelings remain?"

"That is something we cannot answer until the time comes—or if that time comes…but…the longer I have these emotions…particularly these feelings for you…the more I cannot imagine no longer having them. They seem more natural each time I see you…more permanent." He paused, looking up at the nearly full moon, "And, to be honest…even though it hurts sometimes when it feels like you are rejecting me…or when I think about how you don't feel the same…I find I no longer want these human emotions to leave me. I want to keep them."

The spider turned to the demon, a crooked smile on his face. "You know the way we all go eventually. We die, or we end our own lives. Those of us who live such a long time..." He shook his head, swallowing a little, "I confess that...I had similar intentions, before I found you. I'm tired, Sebastian."

"…Forgive me for saying this, but…with such intentions…why did you work so hard to save yourself after our rivalry? I mean…I'm glad you did, but I can't help but be curious." He lowered his gaze, "Though…" he met Claude's eyes once more, "I hope…from now on I can be enough to stop such thoughts…even if we stay just friends, Claude…I…I want to spend the rest of my prolonged life with you…if not eternity."

"Truth be told...I was scared. I didn't want to die that way. I wanted my death to be peaceful and quiet...Like drowning. Not skewered under my own blade...by you. So I fought for life again. But by then, absolutely all my excitement had gone. I had my soul. There was nothing, and there has been nothing...up until now." He looked at him with an open expression of loneliness. "...Should I live for feelings that may be fake?"

"They aren't fake, Claude…there is no way they can be. It's all too real on my part." He reached up to cup his cheek, "Even if the feelings of love are dulled later…we are still friends. I know for a fact that the relationship between us can not be thrown away as if it never happened. I…" he paused, biting his lip, "My subordinate that I have helping me…he's been with me for a long time, and we have become friends, even before I started feeling so—human. So I know we'll always have that if nothing else."

The ex-Trancy demon continued to stare out over the water. "How deep do your feelings go, Malphas? Say I...took one of those cannonballs over there...and jumped off, right now, dooming myself to drift along the bottom of the ocean for silent eternity. Would you risk your own life, your contract, that precious soul, for your feelings? Are you that sure of them?" He met his eyes fiercely now.

Surprising himself, Sebastian didn't hesitate, but neither did he answer too quickly, "Yes…I'd go after you." He whispered, maintaining eye contact.

The demon's hands gripped tighter on the railing and he looked back at the man. "Shall I test that theory, Sebastian Michaelis?" Claude asked.

His eyes widened, feeling a little hurt that the man didn't just take his words as proof enough. But he had told the truth. "If you must…but…I would rather you not…The water is cold as ice, and I do remember you saying I am susceptible to human illnesses currently…"

Claude bowed his head. "...That you are, Michaelis," he told him softly, almost inaudibly. "And how I've gotten myself riled up...about this. Can I step back?" His knuckles were white in their tight grip on the rails. "...Instead...draw me back yourself."

Sebastian reached out, gently caressing the spider's hand before slipping his fingers under it, transferring his grip from the railing to his hand before slipping his other arm around him, pulling him back against his chest and stepping back, "Just so you know, if you had headed for a canon, I would have tried to stop you before you jumped. I'd only follow if I failed in that first attempt to save you." He whispered.

"I had expected that you would have taken the opportunity," Claude murmured as he rested against Sebastian's chest. "So I would have gone against your expectations and jumped in without the cannonball. Expelling the air in my lungs beforehand would reduce buoyancy, not to mention I'd swim as far down as I could. ...Yet...I appreciate you drawing me back. I hope it was worth it."

"… _You_ are worth it." He muttered, loosening his hold on him and slipping around to face him, "You are worth loosing everything, to me. Even if you weren't a medical demon, even if you aren't keeping me alive."

Claude moved the demon forward and took his lips sweetly and softly. "...As long as you have these feelings, then...that's enough excitement for me to keep living on," he whispered.

The crow gave a gentle smile, unable to stop himself from slipping his arms around Claude's shoulders, "Then we'll keep each other alive."

The spider demon turned his head away, but he didn't move back from Sebastian's hold. His hand touched his back in a quiet display of affection and he sighed gently. "...was there any purpose to this appointment?" he asked after a moment.

"I…" his cheeks practically glowed in the darkness, "Just wanted to spend more time with you. My attack earlier happened when I needed to return to my master as soon as I could…and it left me wanting to see you longer."

"You know you're wearing my resistance away, don't you?" the man replied, resuming his walking. "The more time you spend with me, the more I'm...further convinced..." He looked away as he said it. "And the more I feel the desire to...reciprocate."

"…Is that a bad thing?" he asked, "I don't mean to be selfish in asking to spend more time with you like this."

"...Naturally, it's what you'd like," the man replied, his eyes closed. "...I can't help wanting this..." Immediately he leapt up, scaling the mast to the crows nest which was currently unoccupied, then walking along the mast. "I can't help it anymore!"

Confused, Sebastian stayed glued to his spot, watching the spider crawl higher, a cold wind picking up slightly, "…Claude?" he wasn't going to jump, was he? Hadn't he already said he wouldn't as long as the crow would be there with such feelings?

The spider didn't intend to, he simply sat down on the top of the mast. "It's impossible...each time I see you...you've...I want you to be that person I...live for."

However human Sebastian's emotions were, he was still demon and could hear the spider's soft admission, even over the distance filled with wind. He sighed and leapt up after him, walking easily out to sit next to him, "…And I want to be the person you live for…" he said simply.

Claude was silent for a long time, with the man sitting beside him. "...Life has no excitement if we do not take chances, yes? ...Because you are my friend...I will give you... _one chance_."

The crow looked at his companion in surprise. He hadn't expected this. Although…he was assuming he knew what that one chance was referring too…romance. "That's…more than what I ever expected to have." He whispered.

"I want it too," the man replied, meeting his gaze firmly. "I don't have a choice in the matter anymore...I just...I want to try it. Just once. And you're the person I want to try it with. ...I don't think I need to start on what happens if you screw up. So..." He gripped his hand.

"I won't." he said gently, leaning over and resting his forehead on Claude's shoulder, "Even…even if Bocchan finds out and orders me to…end it…I'll…I'll gladly take the punishment for disobeying." He reached over and gripped his sleeve, "I've given myself to him in exchange for his soul…he is only a meal to look forward to, but you…I'll give you my heart…I'll…be yours for as long as you'll have me. I'm already yours…I have been, even if…I never said it…" he kept his face hidden.

"I'll…be yours until...you discard me. Just as I have said before. There is no other man in my heart; I have not had it broken before. It is virgin, and it is yours if you treat it like your most precious possession. No matter how you treat my body, treat this gift well and I'm sure we'll...have a...fruitful relationship." Claude also couldn't look at the man as he said this, but his hand curled tighter in Sebastian's.

"My heart is just as virginal…this is new…to us both." He murmured, feeling the strange feeling of excitement fluttering in his stomach, "I…I don't want you to treat me like the prince I am, Claude…We…we are equals. I don't want Hell's ranks to affect our relationship."

"Forgive me, but I've never really looked at you in terms of rank. You were...my rival, not Malphas, Dark Prince of Hell. Just Sebastian Michaelis, head servant to the House of Phantomhive. You say we are equals...I will consider us so. I _do_...I have, for a long time; my equal." Oddly enough, he felt his heart racing in his chest. Forming a romantic relationship with Sebastian...he'd struggled with the decision for so long...and now he felt weightless.

"…Good…" he muttered. Normally he'd be insulted by such a thing, but he couldn't bring himself to feel such when it came to Claude…his Claude. His cheeks darkened at the thought. Claude was finally his…after struggling with his very human, very one-sided feelings…they were being returned. He finally tilted his head up, showing off the mix of emotions on his face before he pressed his lips firmly to Claude's.

Claude trembled beside the other demon, his hands shaking noticeably. He took hold of Sebastian's sleeves, gripping him as they kissed. Every time he kissed Sebastian, more affection and unadulterated love could be tasted in the kiss, and he felt he finally knew how to return kisses with the same feeling. He still didn't know if he loved him, but to pretend he felt nothing was ridiculous. There were feelings, and those feelings were beyond what was normal between colleagues, even friends. The expressions on Sebastian's face...Claude didn't think he could mimic them. But he was opening up to him more and more.

Sebastian slid his hand down to take Claude's once more before the kiss drifted apart. He held his gaze in silence, knowing that everything he was thinking was clearly shown on his face. For the first time that he could remember…he was truly happy.

Claude closed his eyes, gripping Sebastian gently. Maybe he too could be happy like this.

* * *

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Nothing was consummated yet. That was still something Claude had to figure out for himself, and they seemed to proceed as usual for the following day. As night fell, they knew they were only a few hours from Calais. Claude passed his own time in the lower decks, helping one of the pubs in the lower class deck make food for their many customers. He was having a good time, cooking to his hearts content and for once taking joy in the warm joyful atmosphere of laughing cooks, bartenders and pubgoers, as well as the upbeat Irish music.

While Claude was below deck enjoying himself, Sebastian found himself in his usual routine of following Ciel around and seeing to any needs that arose for the young earl. Though his master was still acting quite cold to him; it seemed his annoyance and anger from the day before had carried over, much to the demon's annoyance. But the boy still wasn't questioning him.

As Ciel ate dinner in the large dining hall, Sebastian stepped forward; pouring more sparkling grape juice into the boy's glass after it had been emptied. Bowing, he moved to step back into his place behind the boy when he froze, his demonic hearing picking up on the crackling of a fire.

"My Lord…I think perhaps now would be a good time to leave." Sebastian suggested, the strong smell of burning wood drifting up through the floorboards, undetected by the humans surrounding him, "I—" But the crow's quiet warning was interrupted by the clanging of a bell and shouting right before dark smoke started to seep through the floor, filling the room and throwing everyone into a panic. Too late. The crow hoisted his master into his arms and weaved his way through the panicked crowd.

Claude for once had let himself relax his demonic senses, just savoring all the sounds, sights, smells and tastes of cooking. If something happened to Sebastian—his lover, he thought with a little fondness—he would feel it through their bond, as always.

For his efforts, he was rewarded with a free meal, but he wouldn't take it without a quick performance on the violin. It was more indulgence than he'd ever taken but he didn't care, he could indulge all he liked. However, just as he finished, he heard screams, and someone burst into the restaurant screaming about a fire that had spread far and wide throughout the ship—and he'd never even noticed.

It had started in the engine room. Something flammable had caught alight, and it had spread far too quickly, burning straight through the wooden decks of the old ship. Claude ran to the deck; watching the people fleeing past. The ship was going to burn and sink, they screamed as they dashed past. It had spread to the bottom now. Even if the fire was put out, like Claude had intended to do, the fire had burned through the hulls and seawater was flooding in.

Immediately his mind flicked to Sebastian—the man could handle himself, and he'd be getting his master to the lifeboats tout de suite. Claude intended to depart similarly, until he heard there were people trapped in the flooding area. And an animal. That was the deciding factor, and he turned on his heel and ran in the direction people were fleeing from.

Sebastian finally found his way to the deck and hurried over to the lifeboats. There were three left on that side of the ship, and they were filling quickly to the point of over capacity. Setting Ciel down in one, he began to lower it, keeping his master close as some people had started to push for more space. He paused the lowering of the lifeboat just long enough to let Faelan on, ordering him to make sure Ciel stayed safely on the boat as he finished setting it in the icy waters, and grabbed an ore. Quickly helping to get the small, overfilled boat to a safe distance from the ship. His mind flashing to Claude. The spider would be okay. He was a demon after all… Red eyes scanned each departed and departing lifeboat for his lover.

Claude yanked his jacket off as he reached the flooded areas and began wading along. The flooded compartments had been closed, and he could hear people screaming and banging on the thick metal doors from the other side. And a dog barking. Sebastian was not fond of dogs, he recalled, but Claude cared for the animals. Dogs did not sense him as a threat because he was benevolent to them and his aura read so. The metal door was not sealed completely—someone had wedged something under the door to prevent it from shutting completely, but it only left an inch or so of space under the door that flood water still ran from.

However, that was all the demon needed, and he slipped his fingers under the door, straining the muscles in his arms to raise the heavy metal upwards. The crank broke and the door slipped from its hold, and Claude ripped it from the frame and tossed it to the side. Immediately water gushed out, followed by people and the dog.

He was thanked earnestly, though nobody had any idea how he did it. One man said there was still a guy trapped in the boiler room and he could still be alive. Claude thought why not; excitement was excitement. And if not, he would receive death the way he'd intended; to drown.

Sebastian's eyes finished scanning the area with no sign of Claude, and the ship was starting to sink fast. "Come on…where are you…?" he muttered to himself. Finally, he couldn't stand the wait and stood up, stripping out of his tailcoat and tossing it to his subordinate, "Faelan, take care of the young master until I get back."

"Just you wait!" Ciel scowled, "There is absolutely no reason for you to go anywhere!"

"Forgive me, My Lord, but I full-heartedly disagree." He said diving into the frigid waters before he could be ordered to stay. Under the surface, everything seemed so calm and quiet. Relaxing if he didn't let the chill get to him. But once he resurfaced; gulping in air, he could hear yells and screams again; including Ciel's voice scolding him. Luckily, the boy's tantrum lacked orders, so he wouldn't be punished by his contract. He swam as quickly as he could back to the ship.

Claude swam through—the water was practically up to the roof and his heart was racing with exhilaration. His glasses tucked neatly in his pocket, he approached the door to the boiler room. A similar situation- the watertight door was wedged open, but only by a set of fingers under the door. Claude did not anticipate what he would find on the other side.

He swam down to the bottom, holding his breath. Sometimes, he wondered what life would have been like if he was a shinigami—to be a mere corporeal figure of one's own soul, reborn to deliver other souls to the afterlife. In any case, they did not need to breathe, and he envied that now.

Wedging his leg on the door frame he pulled with all his strength and the door was yanked out of place on one side. Then it was a mere matter of levering it and tossing it off to the side to gain entry to the room. A dead man floated passed him as the water levels mixed. He sighed, not everybody could be saved.

By the amount of water that emptied into the other room, the boiler room had only been about half-full, and the man had only drowned by trapping his fingers under the door. The room was hot, unnaturally so.

"Claude?" Sebastian called out, sputtering water as he reached the ship finally, pulling himself up onto the small portion of the deck still above water, "Damn it, where are you?"

He spotted a group of drenched and shivering people—and a dog—running up from below. The group was small, but they did not include his missing demon. "Have you seen a well-dressed man with dark hair and glasses?" he asked, rushing over to them.

A man nodded, "He saved us. But he is still down there looking for people."

"There are no more life boats!" a woman gasped, realizing they had been saved for nothing.

Sighing, Sebastian yanked at a large part of the deck that had been cracked, "Get on this and swim for the boats." He instructed, running down into the depths that the group had come from, "Claude!" taking a deep breath, he dove under to begin his search.

This room was rapidly filling again. Claude knew it would be wise to take a deep breath and swim as far as he could where he'd come from and hope it wasn't all underwater yet. He was about to turn when a flash of red caught his eye and he turned—there was a fire in the boiler room. That was of little threat to him, or so it seemed, until his gaze fell upon the methane tanks the flames were licking at. His heart skipped a beat for a moment and he turned to leave, but it was too late.

There was a large explosion, a horrific wave of scalding heat, but what got him was the tank that blew out of its casket and hit him in the side of the head. Even worse, the sharp nozzle struck his skull, cracked it, and he fell into the flooding water, knocked completely unconscious. The gas fire was not deterred by water, instead spreading along the surface.

Claude drifted to the bottom, blood darkening the water around him, the tank still piercing into his head.

Precious air bubbles were leaking from the corners of Sebastian's lips as his lungs ached for air. Luckily, he came into a room that had two feet of air left and he burst through, gulping in the air greedily and pausing to regain his bearings, "Claude?" he called out in hopes of a response and a direction to swim…but he was met with silence. He sighed and took another deep breath about to dive under once more when a loud bang and the twisting of metal found his ears. His eyes widened and he dove under, swimming towards the sound. He hadn't been far away and he found the source quickly in blood-clouded water. Slowly he stuck out his tongue, tasting it.

Sebastian nearly let go of his air supply due to shock. The blood was demonic. Frantically, he scanned the room and found Claude at the bottom, nearly hidden perfectly by the blood. He swam down and slipped his arms around the larger demon. He couldn't surface for air due to the fire atop the water, so he hurried to the last room he had found air in, only to discover the water had risen too much.

To make matters worse, the warped door he had swam through had given in and collapsed, the hole it left was too small for him let alone he and Claude both. Panicking; the crow demon dropped his lover and swam over to the wall, tearing at the warped wooden boards until he managed to rip a hole in the side of the ship large enough. He swam back and managed a weaker grip on Claude, pulling him along and up to the surface. Black dots disrupting his vision from lack of air. He wasn't going to make it…he was going to die…Claude was…

And then, his head burst through the surface and he drank in the salty air, heaving Claude above the waters as well. He left himself no time to adjust to the air in his lungs before he swam over to a large piece of drift wood and heaved Claude up onto it, "No, no, no, no, no! Claude!" he tore the debris from his head and tore off his own shirt, applying pressure to the wound before pumping his chest and leaning over to give him mouth-to-mouth. "Come on….d-don't leave me….not n-now…" he shivered, tears mixing with seawater on his cheeks.

The demon eventually coughed up water, nearly choking on it because consciousness did not return to him. He vomited, then lay lifeless apart from the slight rise and fall of his chest, and the weak beating of his heart. After a few minutes, the wound on the side of his head stopped bleeding, healing a little, but his body had sustained considerable damage via the wound and burning along the side of his face, his shoulders and back.

The rest of his body was dead white and he was deaf to Sebastian's cries.

Sebastian's body began to shiver uncontrollably, and he let off a small, yet painful cough that racked his body. But he ignored it, wrapping his arms around Claude to keep him warmer, not knowing what else he could do.

After twenty minutes, Claude roused slowly. He turned to the side and coughed up the last of the water and vomit caught in his airway, wincing at the pain in the side of his head. His eyes were slow to focus, but there was a man holding him. Sebastian. Eventually his gaze un-blurred. "Michaelis," he uttered. They were still on the driftwood, and the ship was nearly gone at this point. There was no saving it, but they would be dragged down by the suction when it did sink.

Red eyes cracked open and shifted to look at the spider before he found himself in a coughing fit, "…Claude…Y-you're alive…" he stammered, his body vibrating with cold. Of course he knew Claude wouldn't have died from that, but his human emotions had played with his imagination as he waited for Claude to awaken. He felt so vulnerable, so human…and as such, he couldn't help but worry the worse would happen.

"Obviously..." He sat up a little, and he felt the urge to be sick again, but it seemed to be passing in the cool air. He surveyed their situation. "My, my..." He moved a hand to his pocket and felt for his glasses, but they were cracked. He 'tch'ed and tossed them into the water, pushing himself up. "...Aren't we in a situation...you've made no attempts to reach a lifeboat?"

"…Weak…" Sebastian admitted in a low voice, "I ha-d to get you out… he reached out and took Claude's hand in his own, "I g-got us as f-far as I could…"

"We'll have to get back in the water. This driftwood won't support us forever. I don't have the means to perform a portal like this, so we'll have to swim to Calais. Can you do that, Michaelis? I...believe I can."

He nodded, though there was a part of him that doubted he could, "What kind of demon would I be if I couldn't?" he smiled weakly before he began coughing once more.

Claude looked him over. "You may be a little sick, but I swear if you think you're going to faint on me I'll throttle you. I probably died back there, for a second. I shouldn't even be up, let alone swimming."

Not knowing why, Sebastian flinched at the comment, "I should b-be able to get myself there, Claud-de…I'm just c-old…"

Claude took the man into his arms, this time, pressing his lips to Sebastian's. He certainly was cold, but so was Claude. However a simple warmth spell was easy, and sharing body heat helped. Claude clung to him, warming him up slowly and almost nuzzling him.

"It's my job to take care of you, don't forget."

Sebastian nodded, running his frozen fingers along Claude's cheek, "That doesn't mean I won't do the same for you…" he shivered before looking off towards their destination, "We can both make it."

"Come on," Claude said with an air of exasperation. "Tell me you're a little warmer right now. And of course we can. We're strong. We're equal, so if I can make it, you can make it too."

He nodded, "I can speak properly again. We'll worry about everything else once we reach land."

Claude, somewhat reluctantly, rolled off the driftwood and back into the cold water. It made his recovering injuries burn like all hell, and a short cry of pain escaped him, but he quickly mastered himself. His dizziness was fading too. "Come on...I won't let you go."

Sebastian followed suit, slipping back into the freezing water, "I'm ready." He nodded, squeezing Claude's hand before letting go so they could both swim to shore.

Claude moved as fast as he could through the icy water. After almost ten minutes of swimming, Claude realized they had been swept up in a tidal rip without noticing, therefore being taken away from the lifeboats. That was probably for the better, he thought. "It's okay," he told his partner. "Just let the rip take us in, then we'll break from it, alright?"

"I was thinking similarly." The crow agreed, "My subordinate is with the young master so I needn't worry about returning to him right away." He swam on in silence a while longer, "What were you doing so far down in that ship, anyway?" he asked.

Claude stopped swimming, letting the rip drift them inland. "...There were people down there," he replied. "And a dog." He said it as if it was almost obvious for a demon.

"I know…They told me you were still down there. You saved them but…you didn't leave with them…" he muttered in a low voice.

Claude glanced at him as he pushed hair out of his face. "...What does that have you thinking?" he asked of him.

"I'm not sure. That's why I asked." He looked up at the dark sky, "I like to think that it was for any other reason than to drown…but I can't think of any reason to stay down there like that after you saved everyone you could."

Claude shook his head. "...It crossed my mind, I'll admit...It still wasn't exactly how I'd planned. In truth, there was another man in the boiler room. He was already dead when I found him, however."

Sebastian nodded, then used his arms to float himself closer and wrap his arms around him, pressing a cold kiss to his cheek, "I'm glad there was a reason, even if the reason turned out to be for not."

"Anyway…it's not like I'm just going to off myself whenever. And on top of that, things are different now. I...can rely on you, can't I?" He glanced over at him, eyes glowing a little in the moonlight. "My reason to keep living, right?"

A small, happy smile tugged at the crow's lips, "Right." He coughed again and groaned at the raw feeling it brought to his throat, "Just as you are mine."

Some time passed in a comfortable silence, then they broke from the rip and swam to shore. Claude climbed out onto the wet sand, breathing a little heavily. Feeling exhausted, Sebastian collapsed onto the sand and rolled onto his back, he took a long couple of minutes to catch his breath before speaking again, "Think…we ought to find a spot to warm up properly?"

"Where would you say?" he asked calmly. "We could go to the hotel. I have a room booked there." He wrapped his arms around him.

"That sounds good." Slowly, Sebastian sat up as he regained a little energy from resting, "We'll have a place to get a nice hot bath at any rate."

"Ah, yes. At least let me get you nice and clean and presentable before returning to your master. He would also head to the hotel, would he not?" Claude took Sebastian's hand, and they began to walk. It was not far.

"He would. Faelan would make sure of it." He nodded, "And given the distance between port and the ship, rescue would be reaching them by now."

"Excellent to hear. Your subordinate seems quite capable." Claude found the path and followed it, and within a few minutes they were in the city, wandering along the streets.

"He is." The crow nodded, "But it still feels strange to leave him with my master so much…Part of this trip is to hopefully find the target of his revenge."

"I see. Then I wish you the best of luck...If you attain his soul, the effects of the Aeterna Fames will be put off for at least a decade or two." He shivered a little. "You will not even require me."

"For your potion, no…" he stopped walking and brought the other's hand to his blue lips, "But that doesn't mean I won't need you."

The other man looked away. "...That remains to be seen," he replied quietly as they approached the hotel. He said nothing else as he took the key for his room and brought the man upstairs.

Sebastian gave a sad sigh, "…You don't believe I can maintain these feelings for you when I'm not suffering the effects of Aeterna Fames…"

Claude paused a little. "I can't be certain, is all. But if I thought it was hopeless I would never have given you a shot with me. I am perhaps a little pessimistic, is all." He unlocked the door and entered a lavish suite.

Sebastian nodded, slipping into the room, "Well, I hope in time, you can have a little more faith in us…" looking around, he found the bathroom "If you don't mind, I'll draw up a bath."

Claude nodded. "...If you do not require my assistance... I'll simply wait out here." He inadvertently shivered, a hand slowly raising to his bandaged head.

"I am fully capable of bathing myself, however…" he turned his crimson gaze onto the spider, "The tub is large enough for two. And we should see about cleaning that wound."

"Then you would like my company?" the demon questioned. He suddenly felt relieved—sme part of him had gotten a little annoyed that he, the injured one, would be waiting out here while Sebastian leisurely bathed by himself. It was odd, he'd never felt pity for himself before. Either way, he was glad to bathe with his lover...this was something they had not properly done before. Claude had never been completely naked before him.

"Of course I would. Why—" he was interrupted by a fit of coughing, "—wouldn't I want you with me? Plus…I'm only sick…nothing new there, you…you got hurt and like it or not I'm making that a priority. You won't die from it but I still worry about you." He turned and started to heat the water.

Claude winced at the fit of coughing. "You never need to worry about me," he replied simply, already unbuttoning his shirt because his clothes were sodden and raspy against his skin.

Adding soap to the water, Sebastian finally stripped out of his own garments, "…doesn't mean I won't worry…besides…" he tossed his shirt to the side and began to peel off his pants, "It is worry that led me to find out you were in trouble on the ship…"

"I assure you it is unlikely I'll find myself in trouble like that again. The chances of such a thing, after all..." With a look of distaste, he discarded his pants and his briefs, rather quickly sliding into the large tub.

The smaller demon soon followed, slipping into the large tub, closer to Claude than was necessary. "I'll try to remember that, but worry just happens sometimes…as you are the only being I truly care about." He dipped himself down under the heated water, letting his hair soak in the clean, soapy water to help wash away the salty cold water that was still dripping onto his shoulders. When he resurfaced, he turned to Claude and grabbed a washcloth, "Now let's take a look at that cut…"

Claude followed suit, also dipping himself under. His burns all stung like hell, salty and possibly infected, and his head throbbed terribly. He pushed his hair off his forehead and also shifted a little closer to the demon, tilting his head to give him access to the large gash along the side of his head.

The crow parted Claude's hair so he could better see the gash, using the cloth to gently clean it, "It looks like it is already healing…" he said, "Had you been human you'd be long dead, but there appears to be no lasting damage…and to speed things along…" he leaned forward, lifting himself up onto his knees as he leaned in, running his tongue along the cleaned gash, "Though it still may take a few hours…" he lowered himself again and immediately turned his attention to the burns Claude had suffered, "These however…" he slid his tongue along it, watching as his saliva almost instantly healed most of the burn where his tongue had touched.

The spider's eyelids flickered in pleasure. It had been a long time since another demon's tongue had touched him, but his own saliva had had a similar effect on Sebastian the night he had tasted his blood. He felt the aphrodisiac effect wash over him, but it did help the healing considerably. "N-nh..." As Sebastian's tongue licked along the burns across his back and shoulders, he made tiny sounds of contentedness. "...For the prince to do such a thing," he murmured, red in the cheeks. Yes, he saw them as equals, but sometimes when Sebastian did things like this; things beneath his position, he couldn't help but think of it.

"I'm not a prince…not to you…" he muttered as he withdrew his tongue to survey the damage and leaning in to lick at the remaining burns.

"You're worth one," the demon replied, groaning gently. He'd already gotten semi-hard, and it was only increasing. He didn't really mind though, absentmindedly running a hand through Sebastian's hair.

Finally, Sebastian finished with Claude's burns and pulled away, blushing slightly, knowing that his saliva hadn't only healed the burns, "…Do you wish for this to continue?" he whispered, "Or shall we finish cleaning ourselves?" he turned his head away, coughing into his fist.

"...You seem ill. I do not know if...continuing is the best option right now...eager as my body is for it," the demon replied, removing his hand.

Disappointment showed on the crow's face, but he didn't press the matter, simply nodding and handing Claude a fresh cloth to finish cleaning himself.

The other demon looked equally disappointed, propping his head up on his elbow and looking the opposite way as he washed himself with his spare hand.

"…I'll make it up to you later when I'm better…at least with this cold I seem to have caught…" he muttered as he used his cloth to rinse out the soap in his hair.

"...Very well." He sighed. "...Perhaps you should not have come after me, Michaelis. You've gone and made yourself sick, when I would have eventually healed and found my way to shore." Most likely.

"…I'd believe that if you were a reaper and did not require air." He muttered, leaning against his lover as if he was afraid the demon would still drown, though they were both safe.

"Then the current may have washed me to shore," he replied. "Or at least...I may have floated to the surface..." He glanced up at him. "...Well, perhaps not." That did not seem likely...the ship would have dragged him to the bottom and he would have been trapped there for eternity. The thought made him shiver.

"A slim chance I'd rather not take. If this cold is my punishment, then it's still more than worth my going after you." He smiled.

Claude leaned over. "May I take your lips?" he questioned, his lips brushing softly against the other man's. "At least, allow me this..."

"…You needn't ask…" Sebastian replied softly, hoping another coughing fit wouldn't ruin it, "They are yours to take at any time…"

The demon let a little smirk grace his features and the tapered fingers of one black-tipped hand cupped Sebastian's cheek. His tongue darted out, wetting the lips of the man before taking them in a soft and slow kiss, moving gently and sensually.

Sebastian returned the kiss just as gently. It was strange, but in a good way in Sebastian's mind. Demons hardly kissed. But when they did, it was always rough and lustful, or it was simply used as an emotionless tool on a human to sway them into something. This was unlike any other kiss he had shared with anyone.

Claude had grown to love that about the crow demon's kisses. They were unlike any other kisses he'd shared, and he found himself looking forward to the moments that he could lock lips with Sebastian. One hand slid down his shoulder quite affectionately, and he sighed in the knowledge that he had to hold himself back. Nonetheless, he deepened the kiss, heating things up a little.

Passion, the crow was finding, was similar to lust. With real feelings behind it, the kiss heated him and excited him, but left him in control of himself, unlike lust. He continued to move his lips against Claude's, leaning in and resting against him, his hands sliding over the man's warm, wet arms, and he gave a small moan into his lips.

Claude didn't find it easy to control himself for some reason. His hand slid down the man's hips as his kisses grew more feisty, little trails of web being spun from his fingertips and draping over Sebastian's body. His hand disappeared under the water, finding the other man's length.

The sticky webbing clinging to his skin tickled slightly and he shifted, moaning again as he felt the thread and his lover's hand move lower until… "Hhha!" he gasped into his lips, having not expected the other to make such a move, and was taken by surprise.

"Hnn.." Claude breathed huskily into his ear, letting his tongue flick over the area and tease him. Sebastian was wonderfully hard, to his approval, and he gave him a few long, deep strokes to further entice him.

"Cl-Claude…." He began to pant, and roll his hips to further the touch upon his length. His fingers trailing down to the other's hips and gripping them. Though they had agreed not to, Claude continued to touch him, a little harder as the butler's hands grasped firmly upon his hips.

"Mmm…" Sebastian leaned in, pressing up against the spider, his tongue darting out to wet his lips before his eyes closed, his lips nibbling and kissing along the other's neck.

Claude groaned against him, stroking him further and feistier. One hand stroking his cock, the other found the little area he was looking for down below, starting to play around there too. Blushing, Sebastian pressed back against Claude's fingers invitingly, letting out a low moan as his teeth scraped lightly over the spider's skin. A dark chuckle escaped Claude. For some reason, he didn't feel a lot like himself, all he knew was he wanted to play with the raven. "Aren't you so sweet and tight," he murmured, pressing a slender finger in further.

The crow hummed in pleasure from the slightly uncomfortable intrusion, his eyes beginning to glow lustfully as he slid his hands down from Claude's hips to his length. Claude had started it, after all, and he wasn't going to complain. He parted his lips, about to respond when suddenly his eyes widened and he pulled back, abandoning his lover's length as he coughed violently into his hand, his entire body heaving.

The man watched him closely, a little frown forming on his face as the pleasure stopped. He extracted himself slowly, looking displeased.

"S-sorry…" he moaned after his coughing stopped enough for him to speak, an apologetic look on his face, more coughs soon following.

"...You're stopping?" the man replied, a little surprised at how irritated he suddenly was. He looked him over. Well...Sebastian did look quite unwell...

"Don't feel…very well…" he said between coughs, his head starting to feel dizzy, "Want to but…I don't think I c—" he coughed.

The other man turned his head away. "Very well," he said unhappily. He slipped nimbly out of the bath and quickly wrapped a towel around his waist, before extending a hand to the other demon.

Sebastian waited until he stopped coughing before letting the other demon help him out of the tub, grabbing a towel and giving a few more violent coughs as he patted himself dry.

Claude gave an indignant huff. "I'll see what I can make up for you," he said simply.

"…Claude…I…really am sorry…" he said sadly, picking up on his lover's irritation.

"Doesn't matter," he replied. "You're not well...I know you risked your health trying to save me." He went to a thick chest he'd had sent over separately.

"It does matter… I've disappointed you…" he said softly, walking over to the window to look out at the bay in the distance.

Claude opened the chest, taking out various herbs and medicines. "I take my Sins seriously," he replied. "Including Lust. But I know what's more important here. We have all the time in the world."

"I'll make it up to you, I really will…" he said, turning around and looking at him, a few more coughs making themselves known.

"I don't doubt that," the man replied. He was quick to prepare him a nice little remedy for his cold, then he lay himself down on the bed. In truth, he felt a little dizzy himself. His head throbbed still.

Sebastian drank the remedy in silence, setting the empty cup aside and sitting on the bed next to Claude, running his fingers through his hair, "You don't look all that great yourself, though."

"Well, yes," the man replied grumpily. "Getting speared in the head by a tank is actually a bit of a damper on a lot of things, would you believe it?"

"I didn't mean anything by it." He muttered in a gentle voice, "But maybe we both need a nice lengthy rest tonight…" he reached out, moving Claude's hair out of the way to look at the healing wound's progress, "It looks like you'll be fine come morning at the rate; it's healing."

Claude put hisspare glasses aside. "...doesn't feel like it," he said under his breath. "It hurts like that blade. ...It prickles and burns..."

"Shall I see if I can help it more?" Sebastian asked in a worried tone.

"Maybe...maybe I should just rest," the man replied. "It's still new…I'm sure it'll be okay in good time. It's just...making me irritable." He got back against the pillow, settling down.

Nodding, the crow turned off the light and settled down next to Claude, "Rest, then. We'll look at it again in the morning." He leaned over and kissed his cheek gingerly before settling down next to him.

Claude slept a little distantly from him before taking his hand. "...Sebastian," he murmured, "...thank you...for saving me..."

* * *

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Sebastian groaned, rolling over and sitting up, cradling his head. Though he did feel better, his throat and chest still felt the effects of having countless coughing fits through the night. He sighed and turned to look down at Claude's sleeping face, reaching out and running his fingers through his messy hair.

The demon roused slowly. "...Mmh..." It had been a smooth night, no dreams at all. Just peace, letting his body heal. Sleepy golden eyes opened on Sebastian.

The crow smiled, "Good Morning. How d—do you feel?" he asked in a soft voice, disrupted by a small cough. But luckily the cough seemed as if it was growing weaker, like his cold was almost gone.

"A little better," Claude supposed. He rolled a shoulder—his burns were all gone now, and his head seemed okay at the moment. "You seem a little better yourself."

The butler nodded with a small smile, "Would you like breakfast? I know you don't need it, but you do enjoy it…"

Claude looked a little surprised, but nodded, stretching his athletic body out on the bed. "That would be excellent, Sebastian." This lover thing...he could get used to it.

"Alright. I'll be back." He kissed his lover's cheek and stood up, "I'm going to borrow these. I haven't gotten to clean and fix my own." He said, slipping into a spare shirt and pants Claude had, ignoring that they were too big for him. Then he left the room to find the kitchens to prepare a small breakfast.

The demon lay back against the bed, rubbing his head. When he'd tried to sit up, there was a shocking pain running straight through his head that made him gasp a little. But it was deeper than the surface...it was like it was in his brain.

Sebastian returned shortly with a tray of food, smiling as he set it down on the table and going about readying it for Claude, "Am I to serve you breakfast _in_ bed, love?"

"Oh, if it would please you~" the man replied, definitely liking the treatment. "...you're the sick one, though...I should be serving you."

"You can serve me next time." He said, sliding the plate of food onto the man's lap and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

The man slowly sat up, hoping to avoid another shock of pain this time. There was nothing much, so he began to eat breakfast, and again he melted inside at Sebastian's cooking. A soft smile curled the crow's lips as he observed the look on the spider's face. His chest swelling as he realized his cooking really did please his lover…that he could make him happy with it.

The spider let a little smile cross his face as he consumed the delicious breakfast, made to perfection the way only Sebastian could do. He gave him a nod of approval.

Sebastian smiled wider, turning to go about cleaning and repairing his own clothes so he could change. He liked cooking for Claude, he decided, much more than cooking for anyone else. Ciel hardly appreciated his cooking anymore. He just expected it. But Claude truly enjoyed it, even when he needn't eat human food at all.

Claude ate in silence. Even if it was something small like this, it made him feel warm inside—a little fluttery. He had decided by this point that he could seriously be falling for the demon and he didn't mind at all.

Sebastian finished and changed, folding his borrowed clothes neatly and setting them aside, "I need to return to my master soon."

Claude raised his eyes slowly, as if struggling with him. His head wound tingled, and it was with color rising in his cheeks that he muttered, "...I would like it if you stayed…"

"I know…And I'd like to stay too, but I have a responsibility to him that is already suffering." He sighed walking over and kissing his temple, "I'll come back to see you when I can."

An odd scarlet color crossed Claude's face—now his embarrassment had turned to humiliation. His request had not been easly made, it was him revealing a need for the demon's comfort, and it had been rebutted nonetheless. Even though lowering his eyes was a sign of weakness, he did it anyway, saying nothing.

"Sorry, love. Once I consume his soul I'll be free to spend unlimited time with you." He got up and walked across the room to the door, lingering long enough to flash the spider a smile before leaving.

Claude Faustus stared coldly at the door once Sebastian left. "'Sorry, love,'" he mocked acidly under his breath. Once Sebastian consumed Ciel's soul, he had no reason to stand by. He'd move on. Find another magician to tend to his needs when he got sick again, he would. He looked down at the empty plate, and a part of him wanted to smash it. But he was more of a gentleman than that, he supposed.

* * *

 

France turned out to be a dead-end, at least when it came to Ciel's revenge. They finished their business within a week and returned to England. Ciel had been cross with his butler, and kept him busy, causing the crow to only get the chance to see Claude when he had attacks.

On top of that, Sebastian was getting the feeling Claude was mad at him. Looks of annoyance, snide comments… It was disheartening, but there was nothing he could do with Ciel keeping him so busy. Even at night he'd have chores to do. As far as he was concerned, his lover's bad mood was Ciel's fault, and thinking that was putting him in a bad mood.

He scowled as he spread icing out onto a cake, his day had been particularly busy and now the boy was demanding a second desert. He started decorating the cake when he froze, another attack starting up. "Gnnh…" he dropped the bowl of icing and clutched his stomach. His assistant had been sent out so he couldn't warn him he was leaving before Sebastian ported straight to Claude.

How long had it been since the accident? Several weeks? Claude was much too stubborn to go and see Sebastian himself now...a seed planted in his head in the shape of a ragged scar had now blossomed into twisted paranoia, irritability and anger. He only saw Sebastian when he had an attack, and even then he sat and waited for the demon to come around himself. They exchanged few words, Claude unnaturally cold to him. After all, Sebastian only wanted him for his treatments...never for his company. And this…this 'love' thing...a mere attempt at wriggling his way out of their payment surely... At least, it made sense to Claude's mechanical mind.

That day, a group of people—religious humans—came to check out the rumors that a demon now lived in the manor of the late Earl Trancy. This pissed him off and he sent them fleeing home within a few minutes of their company. In a darker mood than usual, he only scowled when the demon ported to him.

Sebastian groaned, his body starting to shake as he looked up at his lover's scowl, "Claude…" he groaned, "Please…help me?" he asked when the other didn't move.

Claude got up and carried Sebastian to the couch. He'd set up the spell bench in this room for convenience, and got to work on making it without a word.

The crow watched in pain, nausea sweeping over him making him fight the urge to give in and throw up in the bucket that was kept handy for him, Claude was colder than usual, and it was driving him crazy. "D-Did…I do something wrong…?" he gasped, between the pain.

"I am unsure as to what you are referring to," Claude said simply, not turning to look at him as he brewed the potion.

"I…am not blind or…deaf, Claude…you are upset with something…"

"I care too little for things to be upset about them," Claude replied coolly, turning now with the finished potion. He did not appreciate being pestered about the matter...Sebastian knew well of his treachery.

The smaller demon glared at him though t held less malice as it normally would, due to the pain he was suffering, he had, not only a bad day, but the last couple of weeks had been enough to put him in a mood. And hearing his lover say he didn't care about _anything_ enough to be upset…was a little too much. "Liar! You're u-upset and I want to know why! Gnn…"

Claude said nothing, gripping his fringe and tilting his head back to administer the potion, followed by the tea. Once it was setting in, he met the demon's eyes. " _Never_ call me a liar."

Sebastian choked and sputtered as the potion and tea was poured down his throat, but he managed to open his throat to let it all slide down without any of it spilling out the corners of his mouth and dribble down his chin. He gasped and looked up at the spider, meeting his gaze until he caught his breath and his body started to grow numb once more. "…Don't lie, and there'd be no reason to call you one." He snapped.

Claude took pleasure out of having control over Sebastian now. "I'd suggest you watch your tongue," he said darkly, his eyes flashing for a moment.

"…Why? I talk too much? Is that what has you upset with me?" The crow countered, his eye twitching as his hair was pulled a little too much, "Claude, I only want to help you. Things with Bocchan are going horribly…I can't stand it if you are mad at me too."

"Your assumptions are ridiculous," Claude said simply, releasing the man's hair and turning his back on him. "Dear Michaelis...you have simply caught me on a bad day."

"Every time I come here you are having a bad day…" he muttered, turning his head away in a slight pout. "And I thought you stopped calling me 'Michaelis'."

"Given that you are only here for my services, you'll have to put up with my mood. And since I _am_ , after all, having a bad day, you'll put up with whatever I desire to call you." He sat in front of him, on a stool.

"I…What? Claude, I am not here for your services…well, I am, but that's not the only reason! I love you…"

A sardonic smile appeared on the man's lips. "Very well, Michaelis. Let's count the number of times you have come to see me of your own volition since we got back from France." He looked down at his fingers. "Wow. Absolutely none."

"Bocchan won't give me a break! Even at night, Claude! Even now I'm supposed to be delivering him a second desert!" he said, leaning forward, the quick movement causing his head to spin.

"You say that, so then I shall count the number of times you've come to see me of your own volition during the entire course of us knowing each other." One slender finger rose. "Ah, my...Just once. Why was that? Let's think...right! You wanted me to come with you incase you needed my services. My...you're smothering me." His eyes were quite cold on the demon.

"So I could spend time with you!" Sebastian corrected, "You…you know how being contracted to a child can be…" he reached forward, taking the other demon's hand in his.

Claude let Sebastian take his hand. "Right," he said simply, his eyes turning away from Sebastian's now, showing his disbelief of the statement.

"It's true, Claude…" he said, feeling the sting of tears that threatened to form. He squeezed his hand, leaning forward more until he was on the edge of the couch, "I love you, if it wasn't for Bocchan…"

Claude nodded. It was hard to stay angry at the demon when he got emotional like this. "I understand."

"If…I can get word back to my subordinate…I could probably stay a little longer this time…" he offered.

"That won't be necessary...after all, it is getting rather late." He rubbed the faded scar on his head a little…it still prickled.

"…Are you sure?" he asked, silently wondering why the demon was rubbing his scar.

Claude nodded. "Take your leave once your movement comes back," he said simply, getting to his feet.

"You…aren't going to stay with me?" he asked, a little disappointed when the spider stood up.

Of course...Sebastian had to seem like he wanted to spend time with Claude, right? "...Why?" was the simple response.

Sebastian's eyes widened. What did Claude, his lover, mean by 'why?' They were lovers. They cared about each other and wanted to spend time with each other…why wouldn't they take advantage of what little time they were actually granted? "…I thought…" he trailed off, then turned a firm look upwards at the spider, "I think the real question would be 'Why not?'"

Claude rolled his eyes. "It's business as usual between us, is it not? In addition, I've stated I'm tired, _and_ you did insult me earlier. I am in no vein for your attitude right now."

"Business?" The crow sneered, "This isn't all business, Spider!" he said, loosing his cool again and forgetting that he had just taken the elixir for to keep his illness at bay, moving to push himself up. Not even an inch off the couch, the crow found himself crumpled onto the floor.

Claude picked him up by his collar, glaring fiercely into his eyes like he hadn't done for a long time, and he struck Sebastian across the cheek. It wasn't too hard, but it was a warning, a reminder. Again, red eyes widened as his head was forced to the side from the sudden blow, his hand moving up to touch his cheek. What was that? The crow was too stunned to think, but lowered his gaze submissively.

Claude almost dropped him to the floor, but instead lowered him back to the couch. "I apologize," he said after a minute, and touching the hand on his cheek. "I don't want to fight with you."

Sebastian nodded silently, shamefully keeping his gaze lowered. If any other demon had dared strike him, he would have taken them down…or in this case, taken them down as soon as he could stand once more. But this was Claude…the demon he had fallen in love with. He couldn't bring himself to even think about punishing him for striking the dark prince. They both had, had a bad day…it was inevitable that their clash would have caused one of them to snap and lash out. They were both demons after all. "It's…okay…I'm sorry…"

Claude knelt beside him. After hitting Sebastian, his irritation seemed to clear up, and he lay his head in the man's lap. "So am I—I hope you forgive me."

"…We both have had a stressful time since we got back from France…I don't blame you for lashing out…" he muttered, running his fingers through his lover's hair, "And I can see if I can find time to see you when I'm not having an attack…Even if I have to talk to Bocchan about it…"

Claude closed his eyes, moving next to Sebastian and shifted the man into his lap, like he liked to. "I have missed you, Sebastian," he said earnestly. "...I have been. As a demon, it bothers me why I cannot have this thing that I want."

"I promise you…that I'll do what I can to give you what you want, Claude, as much of it as possible. He said, resting his head down on the other's.

Claude's fingers slipped easily up Sebastian's shirt and their lips met after a moment. "It must be hard for you too...I have been too selfish about this..."

The butler shivered and leaned in to kiss him again, "It has been…I think about seeing you all day and night when I know I can't come to you…" his black fingernails slid up the spider's neck before he cupped his cheek.

Claude's eyes became half-lidded and he looked at the man. "And what sort of things do you think about me, Mr. Michaelis?" he purred, tilting his head against Sebastian's hand.

"Many things…but…right now you are making me think again about what we didn't get to finish in France…" the crow blushed, his lips moving against Claude's other cheek.

Claude smirked just a little. "I've thought about that too...very much. About what your body feels like…" His hand trailed the man's torso, straight down the centre, to his crotch, and up again. "It's too much, sometimes."

Sebastian smiled, "Shall we find out? We have time before I have to return…" he muttered, his lips moving down the other's neck.

Claude's eyes flicked over him. "...do you touch yourself, Malphas? Satiate your sexual desires with naught but your mind and your body?" He hummed lightly, letting his throat vibrate against Sebastian's lips.

Sebastian blushed darker, He couldn't deny he had given in and pleasured himself to the thought of Claude. Stealing moments hidden in linen closets, times in his bed in the early morning when he hadn't the time to visit Claude but had time enough to bring himself to a quick climax before having to wake his master. Even before they had become lovers, he had broken down and pleasured himself. A shameful secret for a demon of his rank to admit to, but Claude wasn't just any demon. He was _his_ demon lover. "…Yes… even before the ship…I have touched myself while imagining you, Cimeries…"

The man smirked more in return. "I see..." He looked over the man's adorable blushing face, and touched his shoulder, trailing his fingers and the sticky web from his fingertips. "...I'd much like to watch such a display from the dark prince..."

Surprisingly, the crow's face grew warmer and he nodded, "Alright…but…this stays between us two…" he said, slipping off Claude's lap and pulling open his pants.

"Naturally," Claude mused in return, watching with calm eyes as the demon revealed his undergarments. Inwardly, his heart raced just a little faster. The thought of Sebastian masturbating over him was quite naturally arousing.

Kicking off his pants, the crow reached up and unbuttoned his waistcoat and shirt, letting them fall open before sliding his undergarments down, exposing himself to the spider's gaze. Then, he lay back against the arm rest of the couch, spreading his legs, his length already partially hard as he reached down to grab a hold of it. A strange nervous excitement twisting his stomach as he met his lover's gaze. "If I could stand I would have given you a bit more of a tease before this…" he muttered.

Claude reached up and slowly adjusted his glasses. "That is...no matter," he replied simply, more than pleased with just this already. He watched the man's delicate fingers take hold of himself, the length hardening before his eyes. "You are beautiful, you know," he said to him, as if he needed the assurance.

Face still flushed, Sebastian bit his lip and began to pump himself, feeling his length growing to full size in his palm and working it until his breath started growing heavy. His eyes half closed, not having to imagine the spider, as he was already there, watching him. He shivered, feeling almost like prey under that golden gaze. With a small moan, the crow slipped two fingers into his mouth, working his tongue around them and coating them in his own saliva before slowly withdrawing them and reaching back underneath him, pressing them both to his entrance. He bit his lip again, knowing that by doing this, he was showing the spider that he always imagined himself submitting rather than dominating as his rank gave him the right to do. Slowly, he rolled his hips to give Claude a better view as he pressed the moist digits into himself.

Claude leaned in eagerly, watching the way Sebastian worked himself, what he liked to feel and he actually caught himself salivating a little. When he leaned forward, he noticed how hard he had become, observing the beautiful black-tipped fingers tease their owner open whilst the other hand stroked the flawless length, a small amount of precum glistening at the tip. It made him feel hot, especially seeing the pure arousal on Sebastian's face. "Nh…"

Moaning a little louder, Sebastian began to work his entrance, scissoring his fingers as he pulled them in and out, twisting them around inside him, "Nnnh…Claude…"

The spider demon watched on, behaving himself, though his hand longed to wander. It was tantalizing, the way Sebastian whispered his name that way. "I am here, Sebastian...you can gaze upon me the way I am upon you..."

"…Gnnh…" he opened his eyes, his gaze glistening with lust and adoration. He inserted a third finger, moving them faster within him until he was practically riding them, his strokes on his member speeding to match, "I want you…Claude…"

Claude smiled further, licking his lips at the sight of Sebastian. "...I know...I know you do..." And he was just as eager to ride the man...yet he wouldn't. Sebastian's face was half the sight, but watching Sebastian handle himself became too much for the older demon. He reached inside his trousers and began to touch himself.

Sebastian's blush darkened back up, was…Claude touching himself over this? The thought only made him harder and he moaned out, his back arching as he coaxed himself close to climax." Ahh—hnn…"

Claude required very little tempting, after all, he had the ability to work himself to climax with only the power of his mind, and had been doing so the entire time Sebastian had been touching himself. But now he brought his hand down and pleasured himself in turn, feeling the same wetness around the area. "Nh.." he moaned in response.

Sebastian's breath hitched and climax overtook him, his load spilling out over his abs as Claude's name spilled loudly from his lips. Before he collapsed onto the couch once more, breathing hard as his eyes stayed glued to Claude. Oh how he wanted to reach out…to touch him, to kiss him…

The demon's eyes didn't leave Sebastian's as he quickly brought himself up to climax, showing he was confident with him. They closed when he reached a quick and satisfying orgasm, the substance dampening his undergarments as it shot out. He bit his lip and groaned deeply as this happened, shuddering a little, his tight clothes crinkling around his lithe figure as he leaned forward.

The crow wet his lips and slowly pushed himself up, moving around to lean against the spider and claiming his lips. "You only make me want you more…"

"I know," Claude said in reply, ever so slightly dazed. "...I am sure, when I take you, it will be so very fulfilling." He kissed him back, but less lustfully and more affectionately.

* * *

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

The butler poured tea from the teapot into a cup and set it down on Ciel's desk along with a decorated pastry. He then turned and started to ready the tea tray to be taken back to the kitchens, "My Lord…" he paused, gathering his courage at what he was about to do, "Might I have a private word with you?"

Ciel took a long sip of the tea, letting it warm his body, before opening his eye on Sebastian. "...An odd request, but you may." He lowered the cup, giving him his full attention. He knew he had been rough on the demon lately...it almost bothered him a little.

"Sir…" another unsure pause made Sebastian hesitate. He hated reveling his weaknesses, especially his illness, to anyone, let alone his master. He was paranoid that his master could find a way to use it against him or prolong the contract further. "I suppose I should have told you this earlier, but understand this is rather…embarrassing for me as a demon." He moved around and stood in front of the Earl's desk, raising a gloved hand to his chest, "I am suffering an illness, one that will eventually kill me." He paused, studying his master's blank expression before continuing.

"Normally, I can complete a contract without this sickness kicking in and causing me to suffer attacks, but your contract with me is proving quite difficult as tracking down the person responsible only leads to another level of your revenge. I have no doubt you have noticed my disappearances as of the past few months…this contract is taking too long, and when I started having attacks, I had my Underling come up from Hell to help. I need your soul to stop these attacks for long enough to make and complete my next contract." Again he paused, lowering his gaze.

"My Lord, your wish and being under your services are my priority, however, as of late you have been keeping me so busy it has actually been causing stress on my body, which in turn could be increasing the number of attacks I have. Seeing as each attack brings me closer to death, and if I do die before I have the chance to complete your contract; I humbly ask for you to lighten my load once more, possibly allow me time to rest so that I may better serve you." He stooped down into a low bow.

Ciel kept a steady expression as Sebastian spoke. This confession…the magnitude of it was obvious. Coming from Sebastian it was immense. To hear Sebastian could die from this illness shocked him. His flawless, immovable, invulnerable, _immortal_ demon butler was weakening, having attacks, doing poorly at, or even worse failing his jobs.

Now he was requesting this. Ciel stared down at his tea for a long time, thinking these things in his head. He didn't even have to say it to the demon...he surely knew what he was asking. Ciel moved and sat on the edge of the desk, taking Sebastian's fringe in his small hand the way Claude had done, though much less violently. "...What shall I say, Sebastian? I am disappointed."

Sebastian kept his eyes lowered, "I know. I am sorry I could not grant your wish in a timely fashion, and thus, have to ask such a thing of you, Master."

Ciel tilted his head back lightly, leaning in and gazing over Sebastian's flawless, handsome face with the bright red eyes. Actually, now he looked close, there was an imperfection—slight purple rings under his eyes. "It is pathetic that a powerful demon like you is failing in the contract you termed your services for in return for my avenged soul. But...I think...you're aware of that." He breathed his scent in. "...And I can't have you _dying_ on me."

"Yes, my Lord." He said as he had countless times before, lifting his gaze to meet Ciel's blue eye.

Ciel narrowed his eyes. "That is not an acceptable response, Sebastian, after speaking to me at such length. You should be so very apologetic." He prodded Sebastian in the forehead. "I don't _want_ to have to get into how truly pitiful you seem to have become."

The crow fought himself to hold back a glare, " _Pride_ is something my kind thrives in, My Lord, and it is my pride that suffers most from this condition I have suffered for many hundreds of years. Admitting such to you has been yet another painful blow to it. Are you to demand I lower it even more by begging you?"

Ciel narrowed his eyes. "Are you capable of at least following it, were it an order, or has this disease made even that beyond your capabilities?" He wouldn't tolerate backchat from Sebastian, especially now.

This time, Sebastian couldn't stop his eyes from narrowing, "I'm perfectly capable. But it would _have_ to be an order. You are, after all, still _only_ human. A human that would be dead a hundred times over if it weren't for me. So, in all duo respect, My Lord, don't use my condition as an insult again." He snapped in his irritability.

Ciel sat back, looking down his nose at the demon kneeling on the ground. "I don't care if I live or die, Sebastian. So don't even fringe on threatening me. And if you intend to speak like that then you will receive no leniency on my part, and you may indeed die."

Sebastian's eyes widened. No, this wasn't what he wanted. He wanted time…if only so he could see Claude more. He was telling Ciel so he could see Claude more…without that, the whole confession was pointless and had only harmed him. "I'm sorry, My Lord, please forgive me for being so disrespectful."

Ciel was satisfied at the brief flash of fear he'd seen in the demon's eyes, and the apology. He nodded. "I can...understand that this is difficult," he said, clearing his throat. "...Well, the fact of the matter is that you must serve me to the best of your abilities. I will be lenient on you this time. You may have what it is that you requested, so long as Faelan works in your stead."

"Of course, my Lord. He is yours to command as much as I. It is why I summoned him."

Ciel held his ring out to Sebastian's mouth, looking more calmly at him. "Never forget your place, Sebastian. It is by my side."

"Yes, My Lord." He said, bowing his head and brushing his lips over the ring's blue stone respectfully.

Ciel gave Sebastian an almost fond look. "You may stand and excuse yourself now, Sebastian. Your honesty is appreciated."

"Thank you, Sir." He said, standing up and giving another bow before retrieving the tea tray and leaving the office, closing the door behind him before sighing. That had been incredibly damaging to his pride. Even more-so than he had anticipated.

Ciel relaxed against the desk, rubbing his forehead and returning to his tea. He did not feel threatened by Sebastian. Especially now. He'd seen what those attacks could do.

* * *

 

Sebastian finished his chores and let Faelan know he was leaving for a bit before porting himself to Claude's mansion, smiling slightly as he walked up behind the spider and slipped his arms around him, resting his cheek against the back of his shoulder.

Claude did sense Sebastian come to him. The visit came as unexpected of course...the fact remained that he rarely saw his lover. "...What seems to be the occasion," he asked.

"I have some time off each weak to relax. I thought I'd spend it with you." He muttered, slipping around in front of the taller demon.

Claude looked down at the man. "...You… _requested_ time off?" he asked, a little surprised. He knew Sebastian must have been desperate.

"I did." He nodded, "You are more important than my pride. So I had a little chat with Bocchan about things."

"More important than your pride?" Claude echoed. Sebastian's actions left him a little unsure of what to do, so he let his arms slide around the man's waist and briefly drew him into his chest.

"I told him I am ill, and that I could die from it." He nodded, sliding his own arms around his lover.

"And he offered you sympathy? That is more than I would have expected from Alois," Claude muttered. He licked his lips at the thought of Ciel Phantomhive, and then held the demon a little tighter.

"Actually, he was hell-bent on hurting my pride further before allowing me some time off." He sighed, resting his head against the spider's chest, "But now as long as I have Faelan helping out, I am able to see you a little more."

Claude smiled a little. "Ah…Ciel Phantomhive," he murmured wistfully, his fingers sliding up through the back of Sebastian's dark hair. "Well...I am not complaining..."

"Good. It was for you I did it." He smiled teasingly, "And now, I'm all yours until morning."

Claude raised an eyebrow. "Ah...and what would you do with me until morning?" he replied calmly.

"Honestly, I don't care much what we do. I'm just happy to be able to actually spend time with you when I'm not having an attack."

"...Tell me what you wish to do then," Claude replied, a hand on the man's shoulder. "I am glad for your company."

"I could…help you finish whatever it was you were doing when I got here…or we could find a relaxing activity…or even…" he paused, a blush gracing his cheeks, "We could, possibly, try going out on a date…"

"A date," he repeated amusedly. "What does that entail? I've never been on one, myself," he said, absently running a finger over the blush on Sebastian's cheeks.

"I haven't either," the crow admitted, "But it is popular among humans and shinigami, both. I admit, I am rather curious about it. From what I have heard, usually it is when two lovers go out to see a show, or to a nice restaurant, or out dancing…"

"All those sound rather nice," Claude replied, leaning in and licking his cheek absentmindedly, tasting the warmth against his tongue. Ah, Sebastian was tantalizing.

"Ah…" Sebastian let out a gasp before he could stop himself. "Of course we could always return afterwards to bed one-another…" he muttered.

CLaude just smirked. "You want me to _bed_ you?" he teased, trailing fingers down the uniformed torso.

"I definitely would not be opposed to such an idea." He smirked back, pressing up against him, "We are _lovers_ after all, my not-so-itsy-bitsy spider." He teased.

"I was under the impression we were rather...waiting…for something. I am not sure what. Aside from the fact that it is simply so amusing to tease you and watch you squirm like a little fly~" That moment, a little spider decended from the ceiling, and Claude took it into his hand.

"Oh? Is that how you see it? I'm a fly caught in your web, waiting for us to consummate our relationship?" he smirked, "…Though I have to admit you do make me squirm…" he muttered, remembering how he had masturbated for the demon.

Claude shook his head. "You may be within my web...but I do not intend to devour you, Malphas. Indeed not." He leaned his body against Sebastian's, his tongue flicking along his ear.

"Your tongue seems to say differently." He teased, leaning in and nibbling along his jawline.

"You want to take me out, Sebastian, I will gladly accompany you." The spider crawled over onto Sebastian's shoulder.

"Well, what sounds best to you? Though I have the feeling that if we were to have dinner you would rather me cook for you."

Claude's eyes watched the arachnid. "...Doesn't mean yours is the only food I will eat," he replied. "Would you dine with me, Sebastian, or would that make you ill?"

"I believe I can stomach human food." He said, "As long as it's not sweets. I can hardly stand those when my illness isn't acting up. Shall we go to Dinner?"

"We shall, but…like last time you summoned me for a meeting...I expect to be impressed. A show sounds nice too, were you interested."

"Of course." He smiled, "…Do you think we should change clothes? I could go and be back in less than a minute."

"Do as you wish," he responded calmly. "I shall do the same."

Nodding, Sebastian stepped back from the spider and ported back into his own room, opening his wardrobe and shifting through it until he found a nice semi-casual suit and slipped into it., stopping in his bathroom to quickly wash his face before porting back.

Claude dressed in one of his many shinigami-inspired casual suits, washing his face and applying cologne. He had to laugh to himself and his spiders at the humanesque nature of their actions.

"Ready, Claude?" Sebastian asked, his eyes running along the man's body, "he held out a gloved hand, a small spider on his finger, "And this little guy followed me home."

The demon looked tenderly at the spider and took him in. "You have treated him well. He appreciates it." He let the spider down onto the table and it went away.

"I get rather irritable when people mistreat my raven and crow companions. I would not do the same to yours." He said, "I…had sent word for a cab to come pick us up when I first got back to my Master's. The driver should be here soon." He knew they could travel much quicker on foot, but he rather liked the idea of a slow ride to their date.

"Ah," the demon murmured in response. "...This really is quite human, ne c'est pas?" He curled a finger through the raven's hair, slowly.

"It is…but as we are taking part in a human tradition, we may as well travel as humans." The crow said, tilting his head into the touch.

"Fair," Claude replied, and together they departed to the front garden, waiting for the carriage to arrive. They stood a little apart, the last thing they needed was drama about homosexual relationships.

Sebastian sighed, "I do wish humans would stop thinking so closed-mindedly about sexuality." He muttered, annoyed by the respectful distance between them, "Even the damned fluffballs above are fine with such things…"

"Times change," Claude replied as the carriage finally pulled up and the driver hopped down to open the door for them. "Eventually they may stop. I don't know. Humans are filthy, after all." He climbed into the carriage after allowing the prince in first.

"They are." He nodded, But it's still a shame we must abide by their customs in public while in their realm." He said, adjusting comfortably in his seat.

"Well...we don't _have_ to," Claude smirked. "We can do what we like and they cannot do a thing about it. However…you don't want a bad reputation."

"Mmh." The crow nodded, "At least right now, my actions in public would reflect upon my master, I'd hate for him to withdraw the privilege of time to spend with you because of such." He sighed, "If we wished to be open about our relationship, I'm afraid one of us would have to use the guise of a woman, as to not raise a fuss."

"While the sight of you in a dress is attractive...my answer is a solid 'No'. I would not look upon you in that form. This is the form of you that I want to see." He kept his voice low so the carriage driver couldn't hear.

"It was a comment, only. I was not suggesting either of us actually change our form to be female." Sebastian snickered, "But if this is the only form you wish to look upon, should I take it you would not wish to see my true form?"

"Hn, your face remains the same~ your body, the same flawless figure...as long as they retain their shape I am content." He let his hand run over the man's thigh.

"Well, you don't have much to worry about then. Just the addition of wings, tail and horns….Though I have the habit of leaving feathers everywhere after I transform…"

"How untidy," the man teased. "And yet..." He drew his fingers together at the tips, then spread them, printing a neat little spiderweb over Sebastian's thigh.

"Yes, I have noticed your little habit of leaving webbing on me." the crow chuckled, "I just don't know if it's intentional or not."

Claude smirked. "Sometimes it is, sometimes not. It's fun though...to print little designs on your body..."

"Is it?" his smile widened, "Usually it's only a thin line. I would like to see something more artistic if you are going to continue to use me as a canvas."

Claude looked at the miniature web he'd created on the man's thigh. "Then I shall," he replied with a smirk.

"I look forward to seeing your sticky designs." He smiled, taking Claude's hand and sneaking a kiss onto it.

Claude smirked. "That sounds like an innuendo," he teased, turning his gaze to the window and watching the landscape.

"I did not mean it as such, but you may take it that way if you wish." Sebastian chuckled.

"My, you didn't? That's a surprise," Claude teased, relaxing as they were driven down to London. Once they were in the main city, they got on foot.

"I'm not an Incubus, such lustful things are not always on my mind. Though, once I think about it, your webbing holds it's own sort of intimacy." He smiled, continuing down the road to a nice restraint.

"What makes you think that?" Claude replied, surveying the building calmly. This _was_ a nice restaurant...he had been there before.

"You spin the thread yourself and administer it through your fingers…" he lowered his voice, pausing outside the doors, "and you spread it by touch."

This made him smile a little. "I'm starting to think you might actually like this a little," he smirked, one hand slipping down and squeezing his behind lightly.

Sebastian jumped slightly, "And if I do?" he smirked. "I don't believe I have ever told you to not do such with me."

"Then I shall proceed as feels natural to a spider demon like me." He removed his hand and they entered the building.

The crow chuckled and walked up to the host, "Table for two, please." He said with a smile. Using his demon powers to quickly sway the man's mind. Normally, he would have had to make reservations, but there hadn't been time.

"Of course, this way." The man said, bowing as he led the demons to a table by the windows.

Claude supposed Sebastian was indeed in control of this date. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, so he didn't mind. He went with Sebastian to the table and sat down neatly.

The host handed the two men menus and left with another bow, leaving the two alone. "I must say, it is nice to be waited on once in a while." Sebastian said, opening his menu to look at the selection.

"Oh, I can possibly wait on you from time to time," he replied. "My...prince," he replied, though making sure he kept an air of arrogance as he spoke.

"I do have servants and subordinates for that if I really wanted it, you know." The crow smirked, running his foot up along the spider's leg under the tablecloth. "But if it were simply a treat once in a while…"

"Servitude aside," he murmured, taking the other's hand, "I'd do almost all you asked of me. I hope you know that." Sebastian's hand felt warm.

"I know…" he smiled warmly, "But, you already do so much…If there was anything you'd like or need…I'd also do my best to get it for you."

Claude longed to stroke the man's cheek or something in response, but he gave a gentle nod to him before turning his gaze to the menu and browsing it. A lot of it all seemed quite nice.

Sebastian smiled and looked back down at his menu, a few minutes later a waiter approached them to ask for their orders. Sebastian chose a small steak dish with a fine white wine. Claude chose similarly, opting for the scotch fillet with red wine.

They sat in comfortable silence as they waited, looking out the window at the calm street. "You know…I'm glad we met again…I can't imagine living without you anymore." Sebastian sighed, tearing his gave away from the view.

Claude gave him a bittersweet smile. "That's because you would probably die," he replied, raising the cold glass to his lips, their drinks having already arrived.

"…However true that may be, I did mean it in a less grim way." Sebastian sighed, a hint of sadness mixing with his tone, "Even if my fate were less cruel, I would wish to spend this time, and the future, with you."

"That is quite deep of you," Claude remarked. "We needn't get into such talks so early into the evening, don't you think?"

"Perhaps. But it crossed my mind nonetheless." The crow chuckled, "You know, Faelan had mentioned once before I realized I had fallen for you, that you may have harbored feelings for me, hence your helping me. He was insistent on it, really."

An odd look crossed Claude's eyes. "Ah, yes...the dear friend subordinate. And that lead you to...confronting me on the matter, yes?" he replied.

"It…had planted the seed, yes. But you had confirmed quickly that such was untrue at the time."

Claude stared at him for a long time, cogs whirring in his mind. Perhaps that demon was the one to convince Sebastian to start the whole 'love' act—no, Claude was wrong about that—no...Sebastian was manipulating him. He rubbed his scar as he tried to shake his head of the thoughts.

Sebastian frowned, "Are you feeling all right?" he asked, nodding in thanks as their meals were set in front of them.

Claude blinked. "Ah—yes. I'm fine. I should...thank…your friend for this suggestion, now shouldn't I."

Again, the demon sighed, "You needn't thank him for anything. When Faelan suggested you had such feelings, you didn't. How we are now…this is just us."

Claude picked up his fork and knife, gently cutting into the food. "...However, it may have lead to development on your part."

"I don't believe so," The crow picked up his own for and knife, "It was before I realized my feelings for you. Not before I developed them. Looking back, I had already succumb to such feelings, but was in denial about it. The thought that you could harbor the same feelings for me had made my heart flutter."

"I like when you talk about me like that," he said, sliding a piece of the delicious food into his mouth. "It sounds nice...and real..."

"It is real." He replied quietly, wondering why the spider had made such a comment.

"It sounds genuine," he replied as he ate, slipping a crispy roast potato gem into his mouth and chewing slowly. This was not bad at all.

"That's because it is." Sebastian sighed, "Claude…do you not believe my feelings are real?"

"I...I do," Claude replied. "Like I've said...I wouldn't return your feelings if I didn't believe they were real...some part of me…"

Not entirely convinced, Sebastian abandoned proper educate long enough to lean over the table, pushing the candles aside before cupping Claude's cheeks, "Cimeries, I love you." He whispered, maintaining eye contact.

This actually made the demon redden a little, and his eyes slipped away. "Malphas...in such a place as this," he said with a little smile.

"You are worth displays like this." He whispered, "I need you to know that."

"Worth it?" Claude echoed. As a demon who indulged in sins, what made him worth anything? He leaned over and smiled, almost tempted to kiss him. "Thankyou."

Sebastian smiled, tilting his head as if he would kiss the other, but managed to stop himself, lingering a moment before pulling back again.

They had drawn a few eyes, but Claude cared nothing for them. He finished his meal, which was excellent. "How are you handling yourself?" he asked after wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Well, the food is not disagreeing with me at least. I had been slightly worried it would upset my stomach and cause me to relapse into another attack, but I feel fine."

"Excellent," Claude replied. Once the scent of food faded, something else caught his nose and he glanced up. His golden eyes fell on two men at a table nearby—a brunette, and a blonde whose hair was not something seen around London. Not for a human. Claude smirked as he caught the eye of the brunette, who sent a withering look at them.

Sebastian finished his last bite and set his plate aside, picking up his glass for another sip of wine, catching the spider's smirk. As he lowered his glass to the table, red eyes followed the other's golden gaze to the nearby table, his eyebrow raising as he took in the sight of the two reapers, "Well, that's unfortunate. I hope they stay to their own business."

"Shinigami," Claude murmured. "How unexpected." He could see the brunette muttering to his partner, only for the blonde's head to whip around none too subtly.

"I have a feeling they will keep their hands to themselves, however."

"I find it even more unexpected that it would be those two. Their personalities seem to clash quite a bit." He said, turning back to his own date, "Not that it matters should they stay where they are and allow us to continue such a lovely evening."

"I've never met them," Claude replied. "But let's see...the serious one and the excitable one? I'd imagine them as...pieces of a puzzle, perhaps."

"Possibly. The one with the slicked hair seems to be addicted to work and rules. The blond seems more the kind to go out and get drunk every night after work. Perhaps they would even each other out." he took another sip of his wine, "The serious one is the one you found attacking me while I was having an attack. He has no tolerance for our kind."

Claude looked at the brunette again. "...That _is_ him, isn't it!" he exclaimed. "My, my...what a coincidence. But we shall be civil tonight. We have no business with them. Let us...merely rejoice in our secret homosexual relationships separately."

"As long as they allow us to." He smiled with a small chuckle, running his foot along Claude's leg once more. "Besides, I'd pity the poor young Knox if his date were to suddenly leave to bother two demons that were causing absolutely no harm."

Claude tilted his head. The blonde's hand was touching the man's cheek, who looked a little affectionate, though his gaze became icy cold when it flicked to the demons.

"I think he understands, oddly enough."

"That's good." he nodded, "Also, if we wanted to catch a show, we should head out soon." He said, checking his pocket watch, "I believe the last shows of the night will be showing soon."

"What would you like to see?" Claude questioned of him, secretly rubbing against Sebastian's thigh under the table.

"I believe Shakespeare's _'A Mid-Summer Night's Dream'_ is being put on in the theater down the road. It is rather entertaining and I haven't seen it in quite a while, if you are interested."

Claude nodded. However, before he left, he requested a carry-away dessert—a cream filled bun dusted with icing sugar. He ate happily as he walked with him in the cool night air.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "You enjoy sweets?" he asked, knowing most demons found such things too sweet, sometimes even sickening.

Claude paused a little. "I do," he said defensively. " _Sometimes_. And today was such a day."

"I didn't mean it like that, Claude. I was simply curious. It's nice to know what you like. If you like sweets sometimes, then I know I can make you something sweet once in a while."

Claude nodded, letting the unusual irritation slide. "I like cream especially, though. And since today seems to be a day for indulgence, I thought, why not?"

"Of course." He nodded with a smile, opening the door to the theater for his lover, "I'll be right back with out tickets."

Claude let him go calmly. He was quite fond of Shakespeare, though he'd personally never glanced at a Mid-Summer Night's Dream. He hoped it would be good.

Sebastian returned shortly with their tickets and handed one to Claude, "They are already seating. Shall we?" he smiled.

Claude offered his arm as escort, regardless of who thought what. They weren't exactly going to be arrested for it; they could both get away easily. Smiling, Sebastian took his arm, blushing lightly as they made their way to the doors and walking down the isle to their seats. They didn't get box seats, but they had managed to get good ones.

Claude always thought Sebastian looked cute when he blushed...and here he was doing it like a schoolgirl. He must be having a good time, the demon thought, which pleased him.

He sat down beside him, side by side, to watch the play.

After a few minutes, the lights in the house were dimmed, the murmur of hundreds of voices quieting along with it, eyes turning up towards the lit stage. The curtain was parted and the play began. The house watching with curious eyes and small spurts of laughter filling the room around the voices of the actors. The first act went by quickly, and the lights were brightened during the short intermission, allowing time for scene and costume changes for the actors before the second act began.

Sebastian watched the play with a small smile, slowly leaning over in his velvet seat towards Claude, their shoulders brushing lightly against one-another. Claude was all in all not that impressed with this play. Not the poor acting in the theatre, but the story itself was not as appealing as the other Shakespearean stories he was acquainted with. His mind began to wander after he decided there was no hope for this story, and when the lights went dark again, he leaned over kissed the man's cheek.

The crow blinked, tearing his attention away from the stage and turning to look at his lover, the light from the stage glinting off his glasses and spreading a little more light onto his face. In that moment, the entire play was forgotten. The spider's darkened face, his bright golden eyes, the reflection of dancing figures in the distance playing across his lenses…the man was stunning. He couldn't help himself; leaning forward just a little more, his lips slowly pressing against Claude's.

Claude exhaled in pleasure as he felt the soft lips of the butler connecting to his own. _This_...was more interesting than any play. He touched his shoulder, returning the kiss affectionately. He could taste wine on Sebastian...he himself probably tasted like the cream-filled buns. Sebastian mustn't like that.

Sebastian parted his lips slightly, traces of the other's desert finding it's way to his tongue, making him grimace inwardly at the taste. But He wasn't about to pull away, not from Claude. He slid his fingers along the spider's arm, hooking his fingers around the back of his neck.

Smirking, Claude took Sebastian from his chair and slipped him into his own lap, straddling his thighs. He didn't care who was watching, what anyone thought. "Sh, sh, sh," he crooned, letting his hands wander.

"…I'm capable of staying quiet…" he whispered at a volume only demons could hear, his hand slipping inside Claude's suit jacket and running along his side.

"Yes you are, Claude whispered back, "Good boy." He wasn't sure why he called him that, but he didn't care. Claude's hand followed a similar trail, pulling Sebastian's shirt from his belt and slipping his hand under his shirt.

The butler raised an eyebrow at the phrase that made him feel like either a child or a dog. But he ignored it, biting down on his lip as he felt warm fingers trail over his torso. He leaned in, releasing his lip so they could tease along Claude's neck.

Claude gave a soft groan...he had to be careful because he couldn't help get vocal. His fingers teased Sebastian's nipples, gripping his thigh and pulling the man's pelvis against him.

Before he could help himself, Sebastian gasped, slapping a hand across his mouth to muffle the noise. Claude shushed him again, his hands now sliding into his underwear and nipping at Sebastian's fingers to get them away from his mouth so he could kiss him more.

The crow complied; glad it was so dark that it was possible his blush was hidden as he removed his hand, allowing his lips to be covered by his lover's once more. He shivered, moving his lips against Claude's, his hand continuing to roam over the demon's toned body.

Claude hummed, allowing his skilled tongue to infiltrate the demon's mouth and pleasure him. Meanwhile his hand had made contact with Sebastian's growing arousal, and he teased the head amusedly.

Another muffled gasp escaped the crow, and he blushed deeper. How many times was Claude going to prove his previous whispered statement false? He had never had troubles before with staying quiet in situations that he would be required to be…

Claude stroked him in his lap, gently rocking his hips, when suddenly the lights came back on. Immediately Sebastian was back in his seat, as if nothing had happened.

The spider demon smirked to himself.

Sebastian blinked. The play had ended and everyone was applauding the performance and gathering themselves to leave. And he was sitting there, his pants tighter and a fire lit that wouldn't be satisfied…at least not yet. He took a deep breath to calm his red face before looking at Claude. He cleared his throat, "W-well, shall we head back?"

Claude stood up slowly. "I am satisfied with our outing this evening. We may head back. You are welcome to head home if that is your wish." He delighted in the flustered expression...so rare...and it was only his to draw out.

"I do not have to return until morning to wake up bocchan…I could stay longer with you…" he said, standing up so that they could follow the flow of humans out of the theater.

"You could," Claude replied. "But there is simply one thing on your mind at this time, isn't there?"

"Indeed, but it is your own fault that it is the only thing on my mind, you know." The crow said simply with the hint of a smile.

"True...what happens if I tell you I don't have those thoughts on my mind, Sebastian?" he smirked.

"I would ask if I could change that." He replied quickly, not wanting to have to fall back on masturbation yet again.

"I have to say, though...it is interesting to see you desperate for sex, dear Sebastian," he mused.

"…it's only because of you…" he repeated, "Your teasing is driving me crazy."

"Are you... _desperate_ Sebastian?" Claude purred. "You could beg me if you like~"

Sebastian blinked, "…Is today some sort of 'make the demon butler beg' day or something?" he muttered.

"Apparently so. See, if we do have sex, you'll be begging me anyway, so...either way."

"Is that right, mister Faustus?" he smirked, turning and blocking the path, "Could you make me beg you?"

"I am sure I know how to manipulate that beautiful body of yours. I think yes. Sooner or later, through some means or another, I can make you beg."

"Wish to test that theory?" he asked, tugging on the man's tie, "Or is it all talk?"

Claude circled him amusedly. "You still have to beg~" he teased, jumping up onto the rooftop.

"…But…" The crow growled, he was sure he had skirted the issue, "Claude!" he leapt after him, crossing his arms as he landed a few feet away from the other.

"Did you want something?" Claude teased back, leaping onto the next roof top, and the next.

"Come on, Claude…" The demon leapt after the other, "…please."

"Anyone can say please," Claude replied, flitting away from him, amused.

"The please is for you to stop running away from me." he muttered.

"I am not running _away_ ," he replied, "merely making my own way home. Can you keep up?"

Sebastian sighed leaping forward after the spider, "Of course I can keep up." He replied, falling into step with the spider.

"Pray tell what is that sigh of exasperation?" Claude asked. "It is as if you were the spider with a snack you did not feel like devouring!" He continued to jump ahead.

"It is not. You wish for me to _beg_ you and then start to leave." He said, staying only a second behind the spider.

Claude stopped. "Oh, you wish to do it in public?" he questioned, spreading his arms. "By all means go ahead then."

Red eyes widened, and he looked away, "…alright, fine, we can go back to your place first…"

Claude closed his eyes, a little smile flickering over his features as he resumed his pace. "I thought as much."

Silently, Sebastian followed, wondering how he would work himself to the point that he would beg Claude on his own free will, and wondering why he was thinking 'how' rather than if he 'would'. It seemed he had somehow already made up his mind that he would…

Claude arrived home, leaving his jacket aside. "My...it is rather late," he said, seeing Sebastian. "I am thinking of retiring to my chambers soon."

Sebastian crossed his arms, "You don't need sleep, you know. And if you are just going to turn in, then forget about me begging."

"Ah, you just missed your cue," Claude said, his mood now darkening. "And with that attitude, _you_ can forget about sex." He folded his arms in turn.

"…'cue'? You expect me to do something like _begging_ you on cue? Give me a break. My pride's been lowered and stomped on more than enough today. I need time for something like that!"

"Then take all the time you like," Claude replied, intolerant of his whining. "Think about it as much as you like until next time I see you."

"Come on, Cimeries!" the crow pouted, grabbing his arm, "You can't just leave me like this…again."

"Au contraire, Malphas...you received climax last time. We both did," he replied simply, looking slowly at the hand on his arm. His scar prickled and he touched it absentmindedly.

"By our own hands...don't make me resort to my hands again tonight..."

Claude's eyes flashed without thinking. "Have your trusty servant help you out then," he sniped. "He is so _helpful_ , after all!" he blurted.

Sebastian was taken aback, and it took him a moment to find words to respond, "…You are my lover, Claude. At least, you are supposed to be. I've opened up to you. I've showed you my weaknesses and shames…and still you won't have me. And now you suggest I go to my _servant_ for such things?" he scowled, turning on his heel and walking away, "Fine. I get the hint." He quickly reversed their blood bond and ported back to his own room in the Phantomhive estate, grumbling as he shed his clothes and slipped into his bed, childishly pulling the covers up over his head.

Claude stared at the spot Sebastian had ported from, a dark aura consuming his body. He bared pointed teeth, but there was no one to bare them at. Sebastian's true colors were slipping out now, weren't they? He thought darkly.

* * *

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

A week passed by without so much as an attack for Sebastian. He worked as normal through the day and most of the night; Ciel letting him have a more manageable load of work each day that allowed him a small amount of time to relax. However, he only got one evening off a week, and as that evening approached, Sebastian found himself wondering if he should go see his lover again for the night.

A week before he would have answered himself 'no' as his anger at the spider had been fresh, but as the week dragged on uneventfully, his anger faded into only slight irritation at the man's words…and he did long to see him again.

He sighed and walked into the kitchen, stopping short as his shoes splashed into a puddle of water. He looked down, his eyes following the flooded floor as the maid ran around the room, her skirts soaked, the sink spraying water uncontrollably.

The butler reached out and stopped her, pulling her in closer to glare past her thick glasses, "And what happened this time?"

"I-I-I'm sorry, Mister Sebastian! I only meant to clean the dishes from lunch!" she stuttered, her face going bright red.

Taking a calming breath, he released her, "Go get the mop."

"…Finny broke it…" she muttered in a quiet voice.

Sebastian rubbed his temple, "Go…find something to do that won't tempt you to break anything, Mey-rin…"

"Y-Yes sir!" she hurried out.

"…Faelan." He called, his eyes glowing as he summoned his subordinate to help him clean the kitchen. After all, two demons were faster than one. And since Ciel had ordered him early on in their contract to go through human steps in things, his chores were slowed down.

Faelan hurried to Sebastian, seeing the mess. "Mey-rin," he murmured in his light, feminine voice. As if it wasn't obvious. He had scrubbers, so they got down to scrub and dry the floor.

"Thank you…again it's nice to have someone I can count on around here…" The crow muttered, rolling up his sleeves and stopping the flow of water at the sink before getting down on his hands and knees to start scrubbing the floor.

"That's what I'm here for, master," the youth replied, and they got to work on the floor. It was a slow process. "Oops!" he remarked when his hand accidentally brushed Sebastian's.

"…Don't worry about it. We aren't in Hell. You can't be punished for something so small…" he muttered, continuing to dry the floors, reaching across to squeeze out his rag into a bucket.

"If I was in Hell," Faelan murmured, "would you punish me? Of course, I'm not worthy to touch your skin, my prince."

"…Only if it had been witnessed by those who matter and would expect it of me." he said, "Personally I do not see the point in punishing small accidents such as this." He continued to work in silence a moment longer, "…At least you don't use it to tease me…" he bitterly muttered in a whisper.

"I did have to touch your body in order to assist you medically, though," Faelan mentioned. "Ah, but...has Claude been tempting you? It is not his place."

"Medically doesn't count." He said, "And why wouldn't it be his place?" he asked, pausing to look at his subordinate, "I owe him my existence." And owns his heart, but he wasn't about to mention that, "But it doesn't matter. It seems he isn't even interested in such things…"

The subordinate bowed his head. "It is not _my_ place to speak of such things. The princes I have served smited those who disobeyed or failed to satisfy them."

"I'm not one for that, usually…" he said, sitting back in a dry spot against the wall, "I may have been the same as my Royal Brothers, but this illness…It changed how I could live…so it's changed how I view things…I'm not the same as them."

"You are more lenient," Faelan replied. "You always have been. Just a little. As such, I think Mr. Faustus believes he has the right to treat you as if you were lesser." He looked up at him.

Sebastian opened his mouth to deny it, to tell him Claude saw him as an equal, but then he remembered…Claude had wanted him to beg him for sex…their whole fight had started from that demanding condition to put out the lustful flame that the spider had lit in the crow, seemingly so purposely…maybe the spider had started seeing him as a lesser demon because of his illness, his human-like emotions, his dependency on the other…He truly had fallen far, and maybe Claude had realized that. Without realizing Faelan could see it, he lowered his gaze, looking at his hands as he squeezed the moist rag in his hands.

Faelan watched on with an emotionless expression as always. He sat close, staring at him.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" came the voice of none other than Claude Faustus.

Sebastian looked up, blinking in surprise, why was Claude here? "Of course not." He muttered, pushing himself to his feet, dropping his rag onto the edge of the bucket, "Forgive the mess, our maid somehow broke the pipe in the sink. Stepping over a remaining puddle, he approached the spider, "Why are you here?"

"Oh, no doubt but to make you feel like a lesser creature, as dear helpful Faelan is kindly advising you," Claude remarked coolly.

Just how log had Claude been there without either he or his subordinate noticing? "…Faelan, leave us." He commanded in a stern tone, looking out the corner of his eye at the young demon, "We'll finish cleaning Mey-rin's mess in a bit."

"Faelan can stay," Claude replied. "You two were obviously having a good time. It appears I _was_ interrupting." He gave a nod of farewell and backed off.

"The only thing you interrupted was unexpected work. He follows my orders not yours. You obviously came here for a reason, so tell me."

"Is that an order to me?" Claude questioned calmly, looking at Sebastian with a blank, cool expression.

"…A request." He said, meeting his gaze as he heard the kitchen door close.

"I thought, given the extra time you say you have, that you'd be around at least once. I.." He looked down at the chilli chocolate cupcake he'd prepared. He thought Sebastian might like it because it was not all that sweet. "But I see you're busy having heart-to-hearts."

"I was going to come by this evening. I only get one full night off a week, Claude… as for that conversation…Faelan knows a lot about me, but not everything…when the topic changed to you…he didn't know what he was talking about because he doesn't know anything more than the fact you are helping me with my illness. And as he frankly does not need to know more than that…I wasn't going to correct him."

"No. I saw the look in your eyes," Claude returned. "I know your faces." He placed the cupcake down on the bench, looking hurt.

"What face?" he asked, and then sighed taking Claude's hand, "…Do you want me to tell him I have human emotions? That I've fallen for you? It really is none of his business, but…"

Claude turned away from him. "No, I _saw_ your face! You believe every damn word he says," he growled.

"No! I don't, I just…our last evening together hadn't ended well…" he said, moving closer, tightening his grip on his arm slightly.

Claude felt the hand gripping him, and he whipped around, striking his cheek. His anger faded again to the expression of hurt. He'd seen it...heard the young demon convincing Sebastian that Claude only wanted him to feel awful, and Sebastian believed it.

Sebastian gasped and released Claude's arm to reach up, cradling his throbbing red cheek before turning back to look up at the other with a confused look, "…Claude…" The other demon, for once, looked openly upset, and his eyes glistened behind his glasses before he turned away from him.

"Claude…please, just…tell me what's wrong…" he slipped in front of Claude again, looking up at him and gently holding his shoulders, "I'll…I'll tell Faelan to finish this and take care of everything for the rest of the day. Please, tell me what's bothering you."

There was a slight tear forming in the demon's eye, and the spider noticed it in surprise. He realized he really was hurt by what he'd seen. "... _Nothing_...drop it..."

"No." he said firmly, sliding one hand up to cup his cheek, his thumb brushing aside the tears, "Cimeries…we are lovers…what kind of lovers could we be if we can't talk to one another?"

"You have other confidantes," he said in a thick voice the likes of which he hadn't heard in years. "You're letting him poison your thoughts of me."

"No…never, I wouldn't let that happen…I love you…" he said, ending with the three words still foreign to his tongue, but came from his heart.

Claude trembled a little, then managed to master himself. He stared down at Sebastian.

"I...bought…you a cupcake.."

The crow relaxed slightly, "You…did?" he asked, confused, he had seen the small cake, but he had assumed Claude had it for himself as he did like sweets once in a while. He looked over at the gift.

"Stupid idea," he muttered. "It's chilli chocolate, but...still not your thing, huh?" He looked away.

"No, I'll try it." He said in a gentle voice, reaching over to pick up the gift.

The demon shrugged a little. "Suit yourself...but I have warned you." In truth, he was glad Sebastian wanted to at least try it.

Sebastian peeled back the paper of the small cake and bit into it, chewing it slowly and surprised it didn't make his stomach churn. He was actually able to enjoy the settle flavors making up the cupcake. He swallowed and gave a small smile, "It's good." his smile widened a bit more.

"I am glad," Claude replied calmly. "...Well. That concludes my reasons for visiting. I shall depart now and allow you to return to your...duties."

Sebastian nodded, "I'll see you later this evening."

"Why?" Claude asked quickly. This evening, he had intended to be alone and, admittedly, just brood in the music room.

"It…it's my night off…I thought…that you would want to spend time together as much as we can…" he muttered, lowering the half-eaten cupcake as he raised his gaze to the golden eyes.

"After our last departure? Not especially," Claude replied. "After this encounter? ...Still…not really."

"…Oh…" he muttered, breaking their gaze and backing away from him.

Claude looked on blankly as Sebastian backed away, just as he expected. "Farewell, Michaelis."

'Michaelis', so it really was back to his last name…such a small thing but, it still made his heart sink. "A-all right…" he muttered, looking away to hide the tears that threatened to make themselves known.

There was no point standing around now. Claude ported back to his own manor. In truth...he had hoped to make things okay again with Sebastian. They were immortal beings...they shouldn't be cold-shouldering. But instead he'd found him with _him_. He grit his teeth and gave a short cry of frustration, and the windows shattered. His fists clenched and he stood there for a minute, breathing hard through his nose.

Sebastian finally let the tears free setting the cake aside gently before violently grabbing a pan and throwing it across the room, breaking a shelf and sending tins of spices and pots clattering to the floor before he sank to the wet floor himself, hugging his knees to his chest.

After a few silent minutes ticked by, the crow slowly pushed himself up and whipped his face before looking at the mess he and Mey-rin had made. Having no tolerance for it, he used his inhuman speed to clean everything up before slipping on his tailcoat again, looking down at the cupcake he had been given. A lonely look crossed his face as he picked it back up and finished it. Sebastian then left the kitchen, grabbing a slice of cake from the table as he left, turning to go up to the Library where Ciel had been working on his studies.

With the treat balanced on his fingertips, he knocked on the door before entering, "Your cake, My Lord." He said, smoothly setting it down on the table along with a fork.

Ciel barely looked up at him. Wasn't this supposed to be Sebastian's evening off, and yet he was still here? The thought suddenly occurred, and he raised his eyes to meet Sebastian's. It was then he noticed a hand-shaped mark on his butler's handsome cheekbone, and a purple bruise forming just underneath.

He caught his butler's arm just before he left.

Sebastian blinked, looking down at the young Earl, "Was there something else?" he asked, obviously oblivious to the bruise on his cheek. He knew he had been slapped, but the pink tinge would have faded quickly just as it did every time Ciel got upset with him and slapped him. He had put the incident from his mind and forgotten it.

Ciel frowned deeply, gently releasing Sebastian's arm. "Who has struck you?" he asked in a quiet, dark tone. Sebastian was _his_ butler. Nobody else had the right to touch him, not even to hit him.

Crimson eyes widened and his hand shot up to his cheek, gloved fingers pressing lightly over the tender flesh and causing a dull throb of pain. "It…is nothing. You needn't worry about it, My Lord."

"It is obviously someone of power if it has caused _you_ to bruise, Sebastian." Ciel stood up, giving himself a little more height. "Who has struck you?" he repeated.

"…Let it go, sir." He muttered, "He's the one helping to hold my illness at bay longer so that I may serve you." He couldn't lie, he had been ordered not to, after all. But he couldn't reveal that Claude was still alive either. So, admitting more to his weakness was the only way to answer his master.

Ciel narrowed his eye, staring hard at the man. "'Let it go'?" he echoed. But if his butler's words were true... "...Oh, Sebastian."

"Yes?" the demon asked, rubbing his cheek as if it would smooth away the dark bruise setting into his pale skin.

Ciel slammed his hand down on the table. "Don't 'yes' me, demon! Show some damn pride, you mewling, simpering—" He grit his teeth, breathing heavily. "I don't want to lose my respect for you, Sebastian. Are you accustomed to letting others beat you around this way? I must have formed the wrong opinion of you."

"I endure only what I must, sir. There are very few who could lay a hand on my person and not be punished for it. And as he is helping, I am lenient towards him. This…was an accident."

Ciel stared at him. "...Very well. Go and get that covered up," he remarked, looking down at his stinging hand before sitting back in his chair.

The butler nodded and gave a small bow before leaving the room, hurrying to his own bedroom to survey the damage and hide it.

Ciel sighed. He didn't like the thought of someone smacking his butler around, not one bit. Sebastian seemed the epitome of strength, as if nothing could get to him...and now, Ciel was seeing that his flawless butler was not invulnerable. He could become weak, helpless, even...there were people stronger than him. He hated the thought. It could even be said he cared for his butler's wellbeing. He just wished he would get better.

* * *

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

Another week dragged by, feeling like time moved slower than usual as the demon butler hadn't seen Claude since their last mishap in the kitchen. His face still bore the bruise, though it had lightened and was easier to hide.

He also hadn't suffered an attack, which was rare as normally he had at least one a week, though, he swore he could feel another one hiding deep within him; tauntingly close. And yet, it was finally his evening off once more, and he longed to see the spider again; it was almost maddening.

The crow stood in the kitchen, wrapping a single portion of freshly made curry buns into a basket before porting to Claude's residence; hoping that his gift would soften any remaining…anger? The demon had.

Claude felt Sebastian port to his location. "…Dive, thoughts, down to my soul...here Clarence comes," he whispered. His scar prickled even worse as Sebastian came closer. He was sitting in a lightless room, in the very corner, with naught but a jug of water beside him. He was a little feverish. Golden eyes glinted in the darkness at him. "...Sebastian." His voice cut through the silence.

Sebastian's eyes scanned the dark room, "Why aren't the lights on?" he asked, moving slowly in the darkness to a table, setting down the basket and finding a candelabra, lighting the wicks with a snap of his black-tipped fingers, "I brought you curry buns if you are interested."

Claude winced. "Turn it off. I do not require the light. And I am not hungry at the moment," he spoke hoarsely. After a minute, he added, "I may dine on them later."

The crow hesitated, but gave in and blew out the candles, approaching the other, "Are you feeling all right?" he asked in a concerned voice, reaching out to gingerly lay a hand on his shoulder.

"More or less," the demon replied, getting to his feet and resting a hand on Sebastian's shoulder in return, then stepping closer to him. "I have ...missed you."

"I've missed you too…I but I was worried you were still upset." He bent down, his free hand moving up to the spider's chin and tilting it as he planted a soft kiss.

Claude took Sebastian's lips tenderly. He said nothing as wrapped his arms around him, one hand rubbing circles in his back.

Slipping into his lap as the spider sat back down, Sebastian's hands slid around the other more, holding him as their lips drifted apart again, "How have you been this past week?"

"I have seen better days," Claude replied simply. His eyes skimmed the dark room—his basement. His hands now held to Sebastian's chest, feeling his breast.

The butler nodded, "I'm…sorry how things ended…the last two times we saw each other. It's weighed heavily on my mind and…I'd like to make it better."

Claude closed his eyes. "...How did you intend to do that?" he asked, his left hand sliding around the man's backside and taking a firm hold.

"I think, perhaps, the best way would be to talk things out. Clear up any misunderstandings and…get a better understanding for our feelings." The crow suggested, nuzzling his lover's neck and jaw.

"I have something I'd rather do instead," Claude whispered to him, picking Sebastian up and setting him against the wall. "Something I've been denying you unfairly." He kissed the bruise on the man's cheek.

Sebastian twitched slightly at the pressure on his tender skin, but said nothing, his gaze staying focused solely on Claude, "If you are talking about what I think you are, I don't think you have been denying me unfairly. The unfair part is that you would tease me and push me so far, only to deny me. If you aren't ready for this as lovers…I understand. It's different than simply giving into instinctive lustful acts."

"You are right," Claude whispered. "...I did not think I was able to do this with you…you, as a man who loved me...and even when I developed those sentiments in return...I've been afraid," he whispered. "And that is the truth. I have been...skirting around it."

"Understandably." The crow nodded with a small smile, "You are a demon after all…And I had denied and ignored my own feelings for you for a while before it was too obvious to myself to be able to do so anymore."

"I did, however, test you...I wanted to know how far you would go to engage in an act of lovemaking with me. How far you would lower your pride." His fingers gently slid Sebastian's undone jacket, draping it over his chair. "Maybe I'm ready to try now."

"Yes…I did not appreciate that little test…" he muttered, removing his gloves with his teeth after his tailcoat had been discarded. He reached forward, his bare hand caressing over Claude's cheek and up into his hair as the other slid down his chest, pinching open buttons, "However, I can't seem to stay upset with you."

"That's all for the better," Claude whispered, connecting their lips again and slowly sliding Sebastian's vest off, followed by his tie, then the buttons of his dress shirt. "You consent to this, of course?"

"Yes." He nodded, speaking with a soft voice, "I had not anticipated this when I came, but I will not deny you." He gave a small smile and slid his hand lower, pinching open the last few buttons of the spider's shirt and tugging it free of his belt.

Claude smirked, his hand palming the cloth of Sebastian's groin then starting to remove his belt. It made it easier to get his shirt off. "I've come to the conclusion...that I'm going to indulge in Greed. I want you to _only_ be mine." His eyes flashed and he nipped at the skin of his neck.

Sebastian gave a soft groan, "I already am…contracts aside, of course…" he tilted his head to the side and resting it back against the rough wall, causing him to become aware of the unusually rough texture for such a fine manor as the one that used to belong to the young Trancy Earl. "…Where are we, anyway?"

"The basement," Claude whispered. "It is...a good place to be left to one's thoughts..." His hand now slipped inside Sebastian's pants, finding his cock and promptly beginning to stroke it to erection. He nipped again, drawing a little blood.

"Mmm…and…you do not wish to move?" he moaned, rolling his hips as his fingers worked open Claude's pants, sliding in to caress the smooth skin near his groin.

"Why would I? Comfort is a mere luxury." His tongue flicked out over his ears again, the way he liked to, and then he eased Sebastian out of his trousers until he was merely in his black briefs. "Mm...And you're comfortable enough…" He pressed him against the wall, groin against groin and chest against chest.

"I simply…nnnnh…said something as you seem to enjoy the finer luxuries, such as sleep." He breathed, finding his hand trapped in the other's pants. He scratched the fingers of his free hand down Claude's side, leaving behind thin pink lines.

Claude groaned in pleasure. "Truth be told...I am comfortable, down here. And I would like you down here." His thumb teased Sebastian's tip, rubbing it deeply. His other hand ran over Sebastian's shoulder and across his chest. A sticky trail of web was left in its wake.

"Mmm, Whatever you'd like, Cimeries…" the crow leaned forward, taking the spider's earlobe between his lips and sucked lightly, "And we have each other all night…"

Claude smirked a little, a flash of sharp teeth visible. While his hand stroked Sebastian's thick length inside his underwear, the other hand was casually binding him to the wall behind him with spider web.

Sebastian hummed in pleasure, closing his eyes as he trailed his lips along the other man's neck, shivering slightly at the feel of webbing being spun onto his skin, but other-wise paying it no mind. He nipped down onto the spider's shoulder near his neck and rolled his hips into his hand, "Ahh…"

Claude moaned as he felt the warm flesh press further in his hand. Then he slipped past, running his hand right down and pressing a pianist finger up into his warmth. He continued to bind him, beginning to kiss him once more.

"Gnnh…" The butler flinched slightly at the sudden intrusion, but stayed relaxed, spreading his legs further apart, he nipped at the kiss, urging Claude to open his mouth, his tongue sliding out to further the hint by running over the other's lower lip.

Claude did as he fingered him skillfully. He let Sebastian's tongue run over the sharp teeth while he bound him to the wall nice and tight, _like a little fly_. He chuckled faintly.

"Mmm?" Sebastian's eyes cracked open and he looked up into the other's golden gaze, his hands sliding along his upper arms, lips still parted from the kiss, "What's so amusing?"

"Nothing," Claude whispered back. "...I'd love to know what sort of kinks you particularly indulge in," he murmured.

"…Hard to say…I hardly take the time to indulge in sins of the flesh for my own amusement… and thus-far my partners have mostly just wanted to get on with it…"

Claude made a sound of amusement, pressing deeper inside him and wiggling around before returning back to Sebastian's length. "Naturally. But your partners are not generally demons anymore, now are they? I will not be simply blinded by my lust. I want to know your taboo little desires."

"Well then help me discover them…" he moaned, "Find out what would make me sing for you." He shivered again, "I admit…your webbing on my skin is helping…"

Claude stared at him. "Are you seriously trying to tell me you don't know what they are?" he questioned in disbelief. "You; lustful creature that you are?"

"I told you, didn't I? I haven't indulged in sex much for my own enjoyment…my illness usually takes priority over sin." He reminded him.

Claude made a sound of disinterest—a man who didn't even know his own kinks. In Claude's mind, that made him no more experienced than a 12 year old. "Maybe you like bondage," he muttered. "Maybe you like...BDSM." They would find out.

"Perhaps. I am sure you'd know what you are doing compared to that disgusting angel in it's female form I had to suffer thanks to bocchan…" he tried to lean forward, only to find his torso wouldn't budge. He glanced down at himself and smirked, "I see…you were planning this all along, weren't you?"

Claude met his eyes. "...Something to that effect," he replied, his head imperceptibly twitching to the left. He focused on binding him now. The web was unbreakable unless the demon had more power than Claude did. And that was certainly not the case now with the prince so weakened by illness.

"Hmmmhh…" The smaller demon relaxed into the webbing, watching as the spider spun his thread along his limbs, attaching them to the wall and leaving him completely immobile.

Claude bound him tight, though most particularly by the elbows, knees, wrists, ankles, and pelvis. This left all his favorite parts to play with, including his groin. He smirked, twitching again as he stroked him a little.

Sebastian breathed out, letting his head fall back against the wall, his hips twitching as he tried to roll them to thrust himself into the other's hand, the webbing stopping him from doing so. "Nyh…"

"What's the matter?" Claude whispered, stroking him through his briefs. "Are you a little stuck, dear Malphas?" He leaned forward and took his lips.

The crow hummed into the kiss, working his lips against the other's between whispering, "A little…" his finger's twitched and curled, his restraint of movement already annoying him as he was unable to reach out to touch his lover.

Slowly, Claude withdrew his hand. "And so, the spider lures in the fly...no, the crow...into his web. The crow is a big task…but the spider...has dared to tackle it, because it will be the most delicious..." He twitched again, an odd smile crossing his face and baring his pointed teeth.

Sebastian gave a small whimper as Claude withdrew from him, "Why are you talking like that…?"

Claude tilted his head, his fingers sliding to run over his scar. "...Oh...am I scaring you?" he whispered, leaning up against him and pressing his hard ridge against Sebastian's groin. "...what a sight that is..."

"Claude…Gnnnh…" Sebastian twitched, "…are you all right? You're suddenly acting strangely…"

"What is strange?" Claude whispered, leaning in to his ear. "...You call me a spider...and you...'night raven'.. It is not abnormal to speak in metaphors. Not to mention...as a demon, naturally I am in love with your frightened face...your weakness...it lured me in, certainly..."

"…Your tone…it doesn't sound simply like you speak in a metaphor…it's like you mean it also on a sinister level…and you have me quite immobile…" he said, admitting in a round-about way that it did frighten him a little.

Claude smirked again. "I'm not going to eat you," he whispered. "If you behave," He twitched again, more noticeably, "we'll get along well."

"…Claude…" he paused, eyeing the spider, "I'm asking again and want the truth. Are you all right?"

Claude smiled crookedly at him. "No," he whispered, "I am not alright." He stood back, gazing over him.

"…What's wrong?" he whispered, his hands twitching as he tried to move forward with no success again.

"The...man I'd fallen in love with...He drew me in, and he hurt me. And any true sentiment he ever began to feel is twisted and corrupted by his servant lover...he is reminded to keep on the path of manipulating me..." He stroked Sebastian's cheek mournfully as he spoke.

Scarlet eyes widened, "You…actually believe that? Claude…I'm not manipulating you…and Faelan isn't my lover, you are." Unable to do anything else, he tilted his head to press his cheek against Claude's hand.

Claude smiled. "Shh," he crooned. "Lying won't help you now." He kissed him softly. "But it's alright. You're going to be mine now, all mine, just like you said." He stroked his chest.

"I'm not lying. I don't lie to you, Cimeries." He insisted, "Please stop thinking I was using you."

"I said, be quiet," Claude whispered lovingly, and a large spider crawled over Sebastian's form, crawling straight into his mouth. "It's alright, now."

Plain fear flickered over Sebastian's features, his mouth held open at the uncomfortable feeling of a spider sitting on his tongue, stopping him from speaking, less he bit the venomous arachnid. Not that the spider's venom could affect him, but he would stay true to his word of not harming any of Claude's companions.

Claude stroked his hair. "I'll take care of you," he sang, petting his hair. "We don't have to be apart now. You can be mine, and I can be yours." The spider thankfully excited Sebastian's mouth after a minute, moving to sit on his shoulder.

"Claude…you'll have to let me go…I need to fulfill my contract…" he pleaded with him, "You are taking this too far."

"Then you won't need me anymore," the man whispered back. "A-and you'll leave." He shook his head slowly. "I have grown tired, as you know. Without you...I might as well go and die." He licked Sebastian's cheek. "Not yet. Surely, you can love me yet."

"I _do_ love you, Claude…I won't leave you…and…you know what can happen if I don't return… as early as tomorrow morning he'll summon me and the contract would punish me…and if the contract is somehow voided because I can't protect him and his soul is lost to me, the contract will kill me…or I could die anyway from my illness… I'd be forced to leave you, Claude."

Claude twitched again, wincing as his scar prickled. "I'd join you promptly," he whispered, twisted beyond the point of reason. "Too bad you kept pushing. Too bad you made me feel this way...it didn't have to be like this." He kissed him softly.

Sebastian frowned, why was the spider twitching so much? There had to be a reason for all this… "It doesn't have to be like this. I'm all yours already. You needn't kill us both…you needn't do all this." He whispered, his gaze trained on his seemingly mad lover's movements.

"No one is dying yet," Claude purred. "Now, I...have things to attend to. Of course...you know how to call me if you need me. Hnhn." He stepped back, and lit up a lantern on the wall for the man. "Be good."

A flicker of fear made its self known again and Sebastian tugged at the webbing holding him, "Claude! Don't…you can't just leave me like this!"

Claude smiled. "But why not?" he purred. "Ah yes…you do not wish to be mine. It's okay…it wont be so bad. I'll bring you tea, water, food if you desire. Something can be arranged for your bodily functions. I am not leaving you… Not how you wish to leave me. I will come whenever you call, my prey." He twitched again.

There, another twitch. There had to be a reason… "You…are twitching…"

Claude's hand subconsciously went to his scar. "I really must be off... Time flies down here and I have lost track of it. I will come by later tonight. "

Sebastian watched him leave, left alone to his thoughts. Something was seriously wrong with his lover…he was being so uncharacteristically paranoid and suspicious. He was jumping to conclusions, his imagination running wild. And while possessiveness and greed were normal for a demon; he was taking it way too far, endangering their lives. He was acting madder than a hatter.

And then there was that strange twitch every so often…and he kept reaching up to cradle his head like he had a headache…no, not his head…his scar. It was always the same spot. The spot he had suffered an injury.

Maybe that was it…maybe it had gone deeper than they thought… perhaps it had done damage to him that even a demon couldn't heal? The thought was a scary one. The crow bit his lip and glanced at the spider sitting on his shoulder, deciding he'd have to keep a close eye on him to confirm it…and then try to find a way to help him.

It was quite late into the night before Claude returned. He came in very comfortably dressed, bearing food on a platter. "Good evening," he said lightly as he approached his lover. The spider he'd left was slowly but surely making a little web of its own on Sebastian's skin. Claude was pleased with himself for taking Sebastian like this.

Now he was his, forever. The insane demon would treat him comfortably. "I didn't suppose you wanted to eat, but...it would be nice to make the offer, yes?"

Sebastian lifted his head to look at him silently, studying him, as if trying to find something else to confirm his theory about the spider. It wouldn't do to risk angering him too soon. "Yes…it is nice of you to offer…" his gaze flickered over to the trey of food, "And it is kind of you to have already prepared it. I assume, though, if I were to say yes, that you would be feeding me?"

"That depends," Claude replied. "Do you need to be taken down?" He had a backup plan for if Sebastian tried to make a run for it. Two, actually.

"It would be nice to not be fed like a young child." The butler nodded, "And perhaps over the meal, we can talk a few things out?"

"Why, Sebastian, there is nothing to discuss," Claude replied. He took the jug of water and raised it to his lips. He wasn't sure at this point that he wanted to take Sebastian down yet. Next he looped something around his neck—a collar, made of his spider silk. Through it was a constant flow of magic—as long as Claude held it, Sebastian could only move as he was directed.

"No, I think there is…" he paused and frowned, glancing at the leash and feeling the dull pulse of magic it gave off, "It is hardly necessary to treat me as a pet."

"You say that, but I believe you'll try to escape me if I let you down so easy. My apologies." Claude ran the leash through his fingers softly.

"Claude, I came here to see _you._ To spend time with _you_. It's my night off." He said, trying to help the demon see reason.

"Too bad your little game is up," he whispered, scowling. He started removing the web, though when Sebastian was mostly free, he accidentally knocked his spider away. He gasped, releasing the demons leash to go and check his arachnid friend, thinking he'd squashed or killed it.

"I wasn't playing…" he trailed off, watching the spider demon tend to his small companion. He stayed still, hoping that by not moving the other would realize he wasn't going to leave. "…is she all right?"

The demon nodded after a minute, looking at Sebastian with slightly narrowed eyes. Yes, he was surprised that Sebastian hadn't made a run for it, but...the man was a great actor. He would worm his way out somehow...like he'd wormed his way in to Claude's affections.

Sebastian sighed, "Claude, don't look at me like that. I'm not going anywhere." He knelt down next to the larger demon and reached out to touch his shoulder, "You need to see reason."

Claude flinched away. getting to his feet and standing over Sebastian, grasping, the chain. "I am seeing reason. I'm finally doing something to make you mine." The spider crawled away. His voice wavered. "I want you to be mine."

The crow shook his head, "I _am_ yours, Claude. You already have me, but you don't seem to realize it."

"Shut up," Claude hissed, averting his eyes. He led Sebastian over to the chair he had been sitting in earlier, and sat him down beside the plate of food. "Eat up...you may desire your strength."

Defeated for the time-being, Sebastian picked up his fork and knife to begin eating, glancing out the corner of his eye at the other as he ate the small meal. Really, it was unnecessary to eat human food to keep his strength up, but, he was enjoying being able to move again.

Claude paced, leash in hand, more twitches appearing on his face, and several times he rubbed the scar on his head. It wouldn't stop prickling, and it was starting to hurt. He grit his teeth uncomfortably, watching the demon eat. "Is…it...okay?" he murmured.

"Yes, it's very good." He gave him a smile, but the other demon's new little tics seemed to be only getting worse, "Claude…would you please come here?"

Claude looked at him for a long time, considering in his head if he should. And eventually he did, because he loved him. He approached cautiously. "What is it?"

The crow reached out, taking the man's hand and guiding him down to eye-level before running his fingers through his dark hair, locating the scar hidden there. It looked perfectly normal, which only made Sebastian frown. Sighing, he leaned in and kissed it.

"Nn…" Claude shivered when he kissed him. "What...is it?" he questioned, looking up at him. On closer glance, his own eyes were bloodshot.

"…Has your scar been…hurting or anything?" he asked softly, cautiously approaching the subject.

Claude looked up at him, his expression blank. He was silent for a decent amount of time before answering; "Yes, Sebastian...It has been."

Sebastian frowned; so there was something there. With a small sigh he ran his fingers along the thin scar disrupting the spider's hairline. "…It's okay…I think I can understand you now…" he slid his gaze from the scar to the other's eyes, "I'll do everything I can to help…" he whispered.

"You understand nothing," Claude hissed. "Except how to manipulate even the coldest of demons. That's all." Oddly enough, he found his breathing becoming uneasy. It crossed his mind for a split second that he might have something wrong.

"You only think that." He shook his head, trying to not let the hurt sink in too deep, "But, I'm here for you, Claude. I can help…I can find a way."

"I'm fine," the man said firmly. "Don't try to imply that I've gone mad or something, I know exactly what the hell I'm doing!" It was rare to hear himself speak so coarsely.

"I'm sorry, but…think for a moment about what you are doing. You are trying to keep me from my master, from fulfilling my contract with him."

Claude straightened up, taking Sebastian with him, and rebinding him much more practically this time. "I'm keeping you from leaving me," he said coolly. "Nothing else matters to me now."

"I'm not leaving you, but I must return to my master." Sebastian insisted, "…Please, Cimeries. I'll return next week."

"Shut up," Claude snapped. "Just be quiet!" Immediately hundreds of spiders dropped from the ceiling, revealing the roof to be covered in possibly thousands of them. They began to crawl over Sebastian, and Claude stalked from the basement quite angrily, leaving the demon alone and now in the dark after attaching the spidersilk chain to the wall.

"Claude!" Sebastian shivered, the feeling of hundreds of arachnids crawling over his skin growing almost maddening in the dark. How was he supposed to help if he was being kept here? He had to make Claude see reason…

* * *

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 13

Claude was angry, and frustrated, and hurt that Sebastian was still so keen to leave. He had to give it time. Sebastian would see reason soon, surely. He left the poor demon alone for an entire day, too blinded by anger. But eventually, after a long knitting session, he started to calm down.

He thought about it; He was not treating his lover well at all, leaving him there without any light, any water, any means to relieve himself. And if he wasn't careful, Sebastian would start to hate him.

Every path in Claude's mind began to end in suicide. No matter what way he thought, Sebastian didn't want to be with him, he was certain of that, and that left no reason to stick around.

But Claude had resigned himself to the fact that he loved Sebastian, and he would fight for him if he could.

He approached much like he had the previous day, with some food and water, and a new lantern.

Sebastian was breathing hard as he hung limply in the spider's web. Black residue burning away at his lips and chin from being punished by the contract he held with Ciel; again because he was unable to go to the Earl's side when he was summoned. The burning black, acid-like substance steaming in a puddle under his feat.

His body trembled weakly, but the punishment had finally ended. Slowly, he lifted his head, gazing silently at his approaching lover.

Claude hang the lantern up on its hook. Slowly the spiders still crawling over Sebastian disappeared, and Claude put the tray down, looking at him sympathetically. "...Oh, Malphas. Aren't you a mess," he said quietly, approaching with a handkerchief and wiping the black substance off his face.

The crow stayed silent for a moment, his burnt lips throbbing slightly, "…I had warned you this would happen…" he muttered.

Claude touched his cheek with soft hands, and kissed him. "Shh...It's alright," he crooned. "Let's get you into a bath...clean you up..." Sebastian still wore his leash, so Claude removed the webs and picked the man up. "It's alright," he said in a parental tone. "I've got you."

The crow looped his arms around Claude, allowing him to carry him. He had been left with time to think, and, as much as he hated to admit it, being stubborn with Claude wouldn't help. He'd set his pride aside once more, in hopes of finding a way closer to the spider, back within his trust so he can be helped.

Claude took Sebastian into one of the bathrooms and ran a nice hot bath in the large tub. He allowed Sebastian to strip from his underwear, then helped him in to the tub. The demon stroked Sebastian's hair affectionately, tics occasionally flickering over his face.

"I'm sorry I was not hospitable to you," he said gently. "I'll get you some nice, clean, warm clothes, after this.."

"I appreciate it, thank you." The smaller demon muttered, sinking low into the heat of the bath. The water calming his shivers and trembles, but assaulting the burns from his punishment. He sighed, tilting his head back to protect his burnt chin and lips from the water as he began to run his hands over his body, helping to wash away the grime that had settled on his skin.

Claude leaned over to kiss him and lick gently at the burns on his face and chest, healing them with his saliva. He was abnormally affectionate to him, as if it could sway Sebastian's heart. "You're so beautiful, you know..." he murmured.

Sebastian met his golden eyes, "…What is it you hope to achieve, Claude? You say you wish to make me yours, when you already have me…" he shifted forward and reached a dripping hand forward to cup his cheek, "…do you mean to break me?"

"I do not...want to break you," he replied. "There are better ways to achieve such things...better methods. Even if last night was psychologically damaging to you. I don't want to break you, I want, I want..." He twitched again, it affecting his shoulder this time too.

"I wish you could see you already have it, then." He muttered, the violent twitch making him shift further, leaning over the edge of the tub to press a kiss to his lips, his hand still resting on his cheek as the other reached up and covered his scar. It was painful to see Claude like this. He wanted to heal him…

The demon stared at Sebastian for a moment, twitching again, and suddenly a tear spilled from his eye. He raised a hand to it, vaguely surprised, then rested his head against the rim of the bathtub.

Sebastian stroked his hair, "I love you, I really do." He said in a gentle tone, "I—" he stiffened, his stomach giving a sharp twist as a long-overdue attack. His fingers curled in Claude's hair as he hunched over, "Ghnn!"

The demon's head shot up, his hand simultaneously brushing away the single sign of emotion he'd let loose. "Is it because you're afraid?" he whispered. "You're afraid for some reason I'll stop helping you? Is that...where this has come from? These false feelings? Do you think I won't help you?" He watched the man on the descent to agony.

"N-no! it isn't—gh—like that." He shuttered, gasping in pain, his eyes flashing a weak glow, "You have th' power t-to destroy me b-but I trust you…"

Claude stood up, pulling Sebastian from the bath and simultaneously wrapping a towel around him. He looked him in the eye. "I wouldn't ever stop helping. I made the decision when I made the contract." He began moving down to the spell desk. "...I said forever," he whispered, again brushing at his eyes. Why was his body so determined to cry?

The crow hugged Claude tightly as he was moved, his arms trembling, "I'll…stay with y-you forever…hhn—even—if you c-can cure me I'll stay…" he buried his face against his neck, "F-orever or 'till—death…" the pain in his gut spiked, making him feel even more nauseous.

"Alright, come on now...don't throw up on me." He took him into the lounge room and sat him on top of the bench, still holding the leash. He handed him his bucket, then looping the leash around his wrist, got to work on making the potion for him. The twitches were worse now; the scar gave him prickling headaches that sent horrible hot shivers through his body.

Sebastian's body gave in and he heaved into the bucket. The process grating against his still raw throat, urging a groan to escape him. He used a rag that was kept nearby to wipe his lips clean again as he set the bucket down, curling up and holding his stomach as he waited.

With the kettle in the fireplace to heating water for the tea, Claude finished up the potion for Sebastian and administered it gently, though his hands trembled as he did so. His scar prickles were worse than ever. "Nngh.."

With his usual grimace at the taste, Sebastian drank down the medical elixir. Once it was gone, he pushed the bowl from his lips and leaned against Claude, who only got back up and walked over to his table. The crow sighed, "…Stay with me this time?"

The spider demon began to prepare the tea after the water had boiled. "I'd—ngh!" His hand flew to his scar, and when he went to pour the tea, it spilled over the tabletop. "I, uh, I think I..."

"Claude?" If it hadn't been for the numbness quickly spreading through his body; Sebastian would have leapt from his seat to hurry to his lover, but he could already feel his legs wouldn't support his weight.

The demon mastered himself again and he wiped the saucer, before bringing the tea to Sebastian. "I don't..." He looked to the door. It was true, Sebastian couldn't move right now, but he could port. Claude wanted to get away; something was happening to his body. But he couldn't. Sebastian would leave, he was sure of it. He looked at him, his eyes more bloodshot than ever, and his pupils dilated. He inadvertently dragged his nails along his arm to make the buzzing in his head go away, still clutching the leash tightly.

Sebastian took the tea, but set it aside, reaching out and pulling Claude down onto the sofa, hugging him, "I want to help you…let me help…"

Tears began to run again. "No," he choked. "No." He sunk down a little, going weak in the demon's arms, and suddenly it happened; a seizure. He slipped down, smacking the bridge of his nose against the stone tabletop then collapsing to the floor, his muscles firing off randomly as he went tonic colonic.

"Claude!" Sebastian slipped himself onto the floor, not knowing what to do. He needed to help him, but in his fright over seeing his lover in such a state, his mind couldn't think. Hold him still? No, don't hold him…all the human medical things he had learned throughout his service for Ciel seemed to leave his mind, leaving him in a full-out panic, tears pooling in his eyes as he reached shaky hands out to him, "Claude!"

It was quite short; only about a minute, then the spider's body ceased shaking violently and he slowly started to go still. And then he was unconscious, the leash abandoned as he relaxed against the floor. His chest moving steadily as he breathed.

Sebastian shifted him, resting his head in his lap and stroking his fingers through his hair. There was no way he could leave the spider like this. Even if he felt the pull of another summons, he wouldn't leave his lover. He stroked his fingers through his hair, "How do I stop this…? How can I help you…? He grit his teeth and let out a small sob.

Once the numbness faded, the crow moved his lover up to the master bedroom, putting him into bed before going back down to clean up the mess that had been left in the lounge. Then, using the last of his energy after a day of torture, emotional turmoil, and his illness reminding him of his fate, the crow summoned a small familiar to him, the crow fluffing it's wings after landing on his shoulder. Moving slowly, he wrote down a message and attached it to the crow's leg, sending her off to deliver it to the medical demon who had been the one to originally tell him he was suffering from Fames. The man was a seasoned and wise doctor, and if anyone knew anything about what was happening to Claude—and how to fix it, it would be him. Sebastian then returned to the bedroom and curled up on the bed next to him, closing his eyes as sleep took him; as if his body needed it.

* * *

 

Claude had woken for a mere few blurry minutes, then dropped back into sleep for nearly six hours. He jerked awake after something in his twisted mind scared him. There was a demon next to him as he slept. Prince Malphas. It was him. He'd stayed. Claude wrapped his arms around him, clinging against Sebastian's warm body. There was something wrong with him; a small light now shone through the world of darkness and paranoia that encompassed his insanity. After a few minutes, he remembered the seizure, and he curled up even tighter to the sleeping man, trembling as he did so.

Sebastian gave a soft moan, aware in the back of his mind that he was being held, that the body pressed against his was trembling, but his eyes didn't want to open, his body staying in a deep sleep, even as his mind became aware of his surroundings. It took him nearly a half hour before he was able to pull himself from his slumber, rolling over and blinking away the morning blur to look at his lover, "…How are you feeling this morning?" he asked in a quiet, gentle voice, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

Claude looked up at him. His glasses had broken upon hitting the table, but his vision was unaffected. "...Sebastian," he whispered, his normally swept-back fringe hanging loose in front of his eyes. The dawn light came through the window and he could see Sebastian on the same pillow as he was on. He took hold of his wrist. "Sebastian," he said again, his voice wavering and tears coming back to his eyes. "...H-help."

"Of course…Of course I'll help. There's no way I wouldn't…" he said, kissing him gently, "I just…I don't know how, yet. But I'll do everything I can. I love you, Claude."

The spider grabbed the demon and held him close, burying his face. "Help me…I don't...I want to be in control again...I want sanity back..." His grip became vice-like and his body shook gently. "It's killing me."

"Claude, look at me." Sebastian stroked his hair, "I'll fix you. I promise. I just…can't do it alone. I don't have the knowledge to do so. So I sent word to an old, trusted medical demon I've known longer than I've been sick. He might be able to help us." He kissed him again, "You are not alone. I'm here."

Claude sat up, staring down at the bed. He was topless. He wiped his face immediately. "...It's going to come back," he said hoarsely, not looking at him. "It'll take over again. I'll lose it. I might hurt you. I might hurt myself."

"And I'll understand. It's not you acting like that. It won't make me leave you. Try to remember that. And when it does come back, I'll just remind you that I do love you. I love you more than anything, and I'll save you."

The scarred demon turned to Sebastian with red-ringed eyes, and he settled Sebastian down against the sheets. Then he sat over his groin, leaning down and meeting his lips. "I didn't want to do this…any of this…not really." His hands slid up Sebastian's body tenderly, as if he was made of porcelain.

"Mmm…" the crow's hands slid up Claude's sides, "It's okay, it really is. It's… flattering in a creepy way, actually…that you would want to keep me with you that bad. It's a bit extreme, but it's not your fault."

"No, it was insane...you, Malphas...I could be killed for that." He deepened the kiss with his tongue, his dark-tipped hands rubbing the cherry-red nipples of the prince. "Understand that...I lost it...I want you, but...not so that I'd tie you up..." He reached up and took the collar off. "You can go free if you want."

"I've always been lenient, compared to the other princes of Hell, Cimeries. And I know its not you, but…whatever it is that scar is doing to you. But I want you to know, that though I will be leaving…it is because I have to, not because I want to. I have some explaining to do to Bocchan…though…how I can get by without telling him too much about you…I have yet to figure out. He won't be happy either way."

"Well, can you...can you not leave... _just yet_?" he whispered. "Allow me to make it up to you...please." He rested his body against Sebastian's and rubbed gently. "Let me satisfy you."

The crow nodded, "I don't have to leave right away." He said, black-tipped fingers trailing over Claude's bare back, and his lips brushing over the skin of his shoulder. "I can stay."

"I'll make you feel better," the man said gently. "For now...I'm in control." His fingers ran through root to tip of Sebastian's dark, silky hair, and he settled on top of him. "I'm ready to make love to you, Malphas. Do you consent?"

The crow gave a small smile, taking Claude's lips in a gentle kiss, "To you, Cimeries, I do. Only you." His fingers trailed down to Claude's waist, slipping beneath his pajama bottoms.

"You...undressed me?" he murmured into the warm kiss with the demon butler, his fingers dancing along his spine, down to his backside where he took a gentle hold of one cheek.

"I wasn't going to leave you as you were…What kind of lover would I be?" he muttered gently, "I'll take care of you, as you take care of me." his fingers took hold of the waist band and started to push them down off him.

Claude groaned a little as his thick erection was revealed. He slipped his pants off and hooked his fingers under the waistband of Sebastian's pants, lowering them as well. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he remarked. He sat on Sebastian's thigh and kissed at his waist, along his happy trail.

The smaller demon hummed, lifting his hips as his pants were removed, "It's fine, Love…" he let out a soft moan, his eyes fluttering closed and his fingers twirling in the spider's hair then trailing down his neck.

Claude continued to trail kisses, his hands touching lightly on Sebastian's pale abdomen. He made his way down to Sebastian's arousal, kissing along the underside, then licking gently at the tip.

"Mmh…" Sebastian rolled his hips, his fingers finding and entangling in dark locks once more.

What would you like from me, Sebastian? Tell me. I promise I'll fulfill your desires." He gave a few gentle sucks to the blushing tip, and then a firmer one.

Heat raised to the crow's cheeks and he cracked open his eyes, looking down at him, "Right now…I just want you, Claude. I want you to officially claim me as yours, I want to officially claim you." He whispered, shifting his legs out from under the other and spreading them slightly on either side of his lover.

Claude looked him over. "I will," he whispered, lowering himself down to Sebastian's entrance and smirked. "Very well. You may wish to close your eyes for the first part." He allowed his tongue to extend, covering the area in saliva, and then he pushed inside him.

Sebastian's eyes squeezed shut and a long groan escaped him as he forced his body to relax, shivering as his body was stretched. "Claude…" his voice came out a breathy whisper. It had been so long since he had enjoyed another man's touch, and he couldn't tell if it was the long stretch of time, or his new human-like emotions that made him feel so sensitive.

"It must be a long time since someone has touched you properly here," Claude whispered once he'd drawn out. "Ah, you taste so good." He wiped his mouth and slipped his fingers inside the stretched entrance. "Would you prefer I went right ahead?" he murmured, teasing the slick area with the head of his erection.

"Ahhh…" red eyes peeked open again, meeting gold. "Yes…Please, Claude…" he twisted his hips, rubbing himself more against his lover's tip. His eyes glistened a magenta hue, "Let me feel all of you."

"Good...I know you can handle me," he whispered, rubbing against him, pressing against the tight ring just a little deeper. He leaned down and kissed his stomach before gently easing his endowment inside the warm, wet walls of Sebastian. "Aah...it really has been a long time...you're so...deliciously tight.." His eyes flashed hungrily.

"Mmnh!" Sebastian's head fell back against the pillow, delicious pain mixing with pleasure. "Oh Lucifer…" he moaned, "You feel…bigger than you…look…" his legs parted more, sliding up to hook around the other demon, helping to guide him deeper.

"And yet...I still know you can handle it," Claude purred, staring down at Sebastian's face, his hair spread around the pillow. He pushed all the way to the hilt, slowly repeating the movement a few times until Sebastian was adjusted. "Your...sex face is...also very beautiful," he whispered.

"Ghhh…" The butler's chest's movement with his breathing sped to match Claude's movement inside him, his groans slowly turning to moans, and the pain making way for pleasure. Cracking open one eye, he looked up at his lover, all to aware of how flushed his own cheeks were. His hands felt their way up Claude's chest, "It's worth it all…This is worth the wait and the teasing…" he breathed, his hand cupping the other demon's cheek, "I…Love you." He blushed harder. It felt so different saying those words while the other was sheathed inside him; more meaningful…more heartfelt.

Claude paused, staring enticingly at him. "I, ah..." He nodded thoughtfully to himself. "I love you too. There is no...doubt of that now." He began to push inside him, faster and faster until he had a strong, steady rhythm, riding Sebastian's hips for balance. Even while completely sane...he could say that he loved him because that was the truth. The lengths he had gone to for him...

"Uhh—Ahh!" Sebastian let out every little noise Claude drew from him, when normally he'd hold them back. Of course, he hadn't seemed to keep very quiet when Claude touched him for quite a while… His back arched and his hips lifted from the bed, pressing into the other's movements. "Nnh!"

"I like the little sounds you make," Claude whispered. "I'm glad you make them—nh—for me..." As a male demon, they were usually reserved with how much arousal they'd let show. Claude never made a sound, with past lovers. They didn't feel as good as Sebastian, of course, and they weren't demons. His rhythm strong and steady, he was now confident to try and find Sebastian's sweet spot.

"I…can't seem to stay…quiet with you…" he panted, tilting his hips more and running his hands over the other's skin, nails scraping lightly. "I—iah!" he felt a hard thrust strike his sweet spot deep inside, making him see a flash of white. "Claude!"

"Ahh," he cooed, "there we are...I've found you." Like a missile, he locked on to the target, and he began to hit it again and again, with perfect demonic accuracy. His nails scratched at the flawless hips of his lover and he rammed deeper into him.

Sebastian's nails scraped down his lover's arms, his body writhing against the sheets as he was assaulted with wave after wave of pleasure, his leg slid up, hooking over the spider demon's shoulder, "Gahhnh!" pressure building in his gut, begging for release as his body heated, "Cl-Clau—Nn!"

The demon flashed his golden eyes, and smiled. He was tempted to make him beg for release, but he didn't want to bring unpleasant memories, so, holding tight to the leg over his shoulder he continued pushing hard inside him, faster and faster to build him up to orgasm. He had drawn close as well, and knew he was almost at his limit, "Aah...Sebastian," he said in a tight voice, desperate.

The butler continued to pant and moan, his hands tangled in the sheets as he gripped them, his nails sharpening and growing slightly, "Cl-Cla-AHH~" his body stiffened and lifted from the mattress, his mind going fuzzy as pleasure overwhelmed him, sending over his limit and his seed shooting out over his abs.

The spider demon followed, releasing copiously inside his lover with a deep groan and scratching deep red lines into his hips. Numb with euphoria he fell to the side, onto the pillow beside Sebastian, and ran a hand gently through his hair.

Still breathing hard, Sebastian turned his head to the side to look at his lover, his blush still staining his cheeks, "…Claude…" rolling over he captured his lips, nipping playfully at them before trailing his lips down his neck to his shoulder, his tongue and teeth working effortlessly to leave behind a small dark mark on his skin. His arms wrapping around him.

"O-oh—" Claude made little sounds of pleasure as Sebastian bit at him. "Marking your territory hmm?" he teased, feeling a little blood well up.

"Mmm…" he hummed licking the small mark, "And you may do the same as long as it is in a place Bocchan won't see…" he said gently, meeting his gaze, "Maybe…that will help remind you if you loose control again…"

Claude slipped down to Sebastian's hip, lowering his mouth to the dip, and piercing the skin with his teeth, rather deeply. Blood welled up, and he lapped it up eagerly. "Here's hoping."

"Gnnnh!" Sebastian smiled, "…Should have known you'd go for a place like that right after we had sex." He chuckled lightly, playing with his hair. "Still sensitive…"

"Ah, there's worse places I could have gone," he whispered. "Or better." He kissed the area better and lay down, holding Sebastian against his chest. "...what did you think, hm?"

"Fishing for compliments?" he chuckled and hugged him, "You were amazing. It was gentle, but it still exceeded my expectations." He nuzzled him, "You've left me content and happy."

"That's rather what I was aiming for," he replied. "A content and happy Sebastian...that is definitely what I would like." He kissed him again. "Just checking you appreciate my services," he mused.

"Well, you are good at getting what you want." He smiled, "But are you feeling the same?"

Claude sighed gently. "I feel at peace, right now. Emotionally and physically satisfied." He wrapped his arms around him and pressed a kiss to his nose. "I feel good."

"Mm, good." Sebastian sighed, "Shame I have to leave soon…I'd very much would rather stay just like this."

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused," he said earnestly. "If there's any way I can make it up to you in the future...let me know."

"It's fine…I'll try to keep you updated…I just…don't know if I can keep you a secret after this…" he sighed, tightening his hold on him.

Claude nodded. "It's alright...I have nothing at stake if he finds out my identity. It would be troublesome if he orders you to kill me...but, then, he won't have a butler after that."

"No….I'd take the punishment for disobeying that order…I'll take the pain." He muttered, "I can't kill you… not now that we are lovers."

"Punishment will get worse, the more orders you disobey," Claude remarked. "We wouldn't want that to kill you." He nuzzled his cheek. "...Just be wary of me, would you?"

"I know…but I have never disobeyed before, and only twice was I unable to go to him when summoned. It shouldn't be all that bad yet. I'll work on trying to help you…and you just…try to remember that I am already yours."

"You'll have to give me a more permanent mark sometime," Claude winked, leaning in for his lips once more. "Go on, now. You forgot to pick up your uniform last time. It's in the sewing room."

Sebastian nodded, "Maybe if you loose control I can do it to remind you I am yours completely." He kissed him and got up. "I'll see you as soon as I can. I don't know if Bocchan will still let me have evenings off for a while. But I'll try to get here to see you when I'm not having an attack."

Claude nodded, sitting back up. "Take care of yourself," he murmured. "Watch out for signs that I'm not all there."

"Do you wish for me to point them out?" he asked, pausing by the door.

Claude stared across at him. "Tell me," he said, "but I don't think it will make much of a difference."

Sebastian nodded, "Until next time, then." Flashing a smile, the demon ventured, nude, out into the hall and made his way to the sewing room to retrieve his uniform before porting back to His master's estate. Checking the time on his pocket watch before hurrying out of his room to locate his master, dreading what was waiting for him for being gone so long and not responding to a summons.

The butler sighed, slipping into the master bedroom, walking over to the window and drawing the drapes open before softly approaching the large canopy bed, leaning over and reaching out to touch the boy's shoulder to rouse him from his dreams, "Young Master…"

There was the sound of a gun cocking against Sebastian's temple, and a frightened Ciel nearly pulled the trigger. He stared at him for a long moment, not lowering the gun. "...Could my butler be an imposter?" he murmured. "Sebastian knows better than to physically rouse me."

Sebastian's face remained emotionless, "I assure you I am who I appear to be. If you wish to test me, then do so. But it would create quite the mess should you put that bullet in my head at such a close range."

"And you would be the one to clean it up, as soon as you regenerated," Ciel replied coolly. After a long minute, he lowered the gun and sat up, staring up at him with mismatched eyes. "Odd, Sebastian, you're looking quite tall for a man who should currently be on his knees, pleading for forgiveness."

The demon withheld an annoyed sigh and slowly lowered himself to his knees, bowing his head low, as if in shame. "Forgive me, my Lord, I have failed you in my services yesterday, and my actions were unacceptable as a butler of the Phantomhive house."

Ciel slid the gun along Sebastian's cheek. "I hope you know deep down that you truly have failed me, Sebastian. And I'm keen to hear what possible excuse you have for not coming when you were called."

Sebastian's head sank lower, "…I was quite literally stuck where I was. I was unable to come." He said in a low voice that hid the slight quiver that had made it's way into his throat.

Ciel narrowed his eyes. "Have you been letting yourself be beaten around by the man who you claim heals you, so you can serve me better? I think his purpose becomes redundant if he keeps you from me."

"He…does not mean it, sir. It couldn't be helped. But he is the only one who I've found who can help me."

"Who is _he_ , who dares keep my bound servant from me? Do you find this behavior acceptable?!" Ciel demanded.

And there it was; the command he was fearing most up to this point. He bent his head lower, his hair falling to hide his face as his lip trembled, "You know him by the name of Claude Faustus, My Lord. And were the situation any different, no, it would not be acceptable."

Ciel was nearly apoplectic. "Claude— _Claude Faustus_!?" he cried, though his reaction was more out of shock than anger.

"…Yes, it seems luck had been on his side, and he was able to save himself after we left him." he nodded and paused, "…and it is lucky for my existence that he had. I'd already be dead without his help."

Ciel stared at his butler. "But I _ordered_ you to kill him," Ciel replied. "You _failed_ that order, if he lives on now."

"No demon had ever before survived such a wound from that sword before. He was as good as dead…"

"I'm sorry, but when has 'as good as dead' ever been an appropriate substitute?" Ciel snapped. "...You _failed_ your orders. Didn't you start throwing up everywhere? Think that might've clued you in? Or has it not happened yet?"

Sebastian's eyes flashed as he looked up at his master, "How'd you know of the punishment my contract delivers when I disobey? But no, I hadn't been punished because the contract itself saw the order as fulfilled."

Ciel let the barrel of the gun slide over his butler's lips. "I've been learning a bit about demons, in light of this illness," he replied simply. "And anyway, I'm telling you now that it's unfulfilled."

Sebastian's eyes widened, "My Lord…" he felt his heart rate increase, beating hard against his ribs. 'No, please don't renew the order…don't…' he silently pleaded with his master.

"Shouldn't you get sick now, as I am telling you face to face that you did not complete an order, Sebastian?" Ciel asked of him. Look at that frightened face of his. How intriguing.

"It…doesn't quite work like that…it is a past order, long dormant, as it was believed to be fulfilled…" he nearly choked out.

"But you _were_ sick, when you disobeyed my calling, yes?" he asked. When he looked closely at his handsome butler, there were faint little marks around his lips. "Well…you can't lie to me. So he really was keeping you. But was it against your will?"

Sebastian flinched, "Yes, he kept me against my will, and yes, I was punished for hours when I could not heed your call…" he admitted, reluctantly.

Ciel slowly withdrew the gun. "Then there's no point punishing you any more than you have been. That still leaves us with a problem. He is keeping you from me, and _that is unacceptable_. If he does it again, I _will_ order you to kill him."

"It…was not his fault. He did not wish to do so." He said in a low voice, "It is not a smart move to renew such an order."

"Then I order you, Sebastian, to learn what it is he does for you. Learn to replicate it. And if he does it again, you will kill him, and continue the treatment yourself, or find someone else. Do I make myself clear?"

The contract on the back of his hand throbbed lightly as it recorded the order. He understood the order, but he also knew it was useless. He wasn't able to learn it, and elixirs and potions took a special property from its mixer. If another demon made it, it wouldn't be the same. And also, there was the fact that he wouldn't kill Claude. It was almost better to take the punishment now, and tell Ciel that the order was impossible for him, even if his contract didn't know that. "…No."

Ciel's eyes flashed. "You're disobeying?" he whispered darkly, staring hard at his butler.

Sebastian took a deep breath, "…Yes. His help can't be replicated entirely…and…even if he holds me away from you again, even if he hits me again…I'll not kill him. I refuse." He said, already feeling his contract start to burn his hand and his stomach churn and boil.

"You don't get my soul if you disobey your orders," Ciel told him. "You know that. Or will you disobey that rule too? You might as well just rip it out and eat it now. Save me the trouble."

"I get your soul once you get your revenge!" the demon snapped, the burning spreading into his chest, "If I got your soul for following orders I would have consumed you long ago."

"Well I'm glad you can stick to that," Ciel replied. "And do not speak to me in such a manner, Sebastian!" He looked at the man, clearly suffering the effects, and he just watched him.

"I-!" Slapping his hand over his mouth, he scrambled to his feet, rushing over to the fireplace just in time to heave the burning black goop into the ash bucket his burning contract glowing through his white gloves. "Ghn…"

Ciel watched on, shaking his head. He walked over and knelt beside the demon who was clearly in agony, and left a handkerchief beside him. "...You know I shouldn't have had to deal with this mess on your part," Ciel said in a gentler tone.

Sebastian retched into the pail again, a few bright flames flickering up from the black substance, "I should….have been more efficient in fin—ding the one responsible for your treatment after the fire…Gh!"

Ciel rested a small hand on Sebastian's back, feeling the muscles tense up both from unease and from his healing. He petted him. "Then, I haven't exactly made it easier for you either. You have been waiting a long time."

Had his insides not been burning for the second time in two days, Sebastian would have been surprised by his master's words. He glanced over at the boy; looking so innocent kneeling there in his night shirt. "…Yes, I have… But the fact is…I need Claude…and you need me alive so…in a way…you need him t-too."

Ciel kept his eyes averted as Sebastian expelled the acidic substance. "...I need you more than I need him. He can't take you like this, Sebastian, he can't treat you like this, he simply can't!"

"He…can't help it…" he repeated, "He doesn't…w-want to do such things to me…" his body tensed and he heaved again.

"If you don't do anything else, try and fix whatever's wrong with him then, would you?" Ciel asked with an exasperated sigh, tucking the man's bangs behind his ears.

"I already am…I sent…for help already." He said in a hoarse voice, "But, he is aware of his problem now…he let me go again…he'll try to fight it…"

"Good," Ciel remarked. "I'll dress myse—"

At that moment, Faelan knocked politely at the open door, and hurried in upon seeing Sebastian. "Master!"

Sebastian groaned, not from pain, but from being seen in such a disgraceful state by yet another pair of eyes. "It's…nothing, Faelan." He started to look at the demon, but abandoned trying to look stronger when he had to turn back to the bucket in his hands.

Faelan scurried to his side. "I-I was...I was going to go looking for you..but I was looking after Bocchan.."

"As you should have. He comes first…It is why I have brought you here to help." He muttered, "But you should not call me 'Master' around Bocchan…I am merely a butler here."

Faelan glanced at Ciel and nodded. "My apologies, sir...I trust things have been worked out?"

"For now…" he groaned, "Tell me if word from D-Doctor He Jinzhou comes for me, but do not open it." He took out a handkerchief and tried to clean off the burning black from his lips.

Faelan helped him to his feet with the bucket. "Excuse us, young master," he said in his effeminate voice and hurried away with Sebastian.

Sebastian glanced at the smaller demon, "…You'll…have to tend my duties…until this passes…" he groaned.

"I understand," the albino replied. "I'm sorry I'm touching you, Master...you do not appear to be steady..." He took him down to one of the bathrooms. "Just wait it out."

"…'unsteady'…" he frowned, "…seems I'm in such a state a lot lately…" he sighed as he settled down on a small wooden bench, "Bring me a glass of water before you—" he paused to heave into the bucket again, "…return to work."

"I'll get you another bucket, too," he murmured, and came back with a few supplies for the ailing demon before heading back to attend to Ciel.

Sebastian nodded in thanks, taking the bucket and setting the water aside for once his punishment ended.

* * *

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14

Sebastian's punishment for refusing an order lasted a lot longer than he had anticipated. Ciel was half-way finished with dinner by the time the butler was able to clean up his mess and relieve his scorched mouth and throat with water before finally leaving the bathroom and heading down to resume his duties.

Surprisingly, as he entered the dining room, Ciel glanced up at him and waved his hand in dismissal, "Take some time to heal. I expect you to be perfect again by noon tomorrow. Go rest."

Sebastian nodded and bowed, "Thank you, My Lord." He said before leaving, walking up to his room and changing into the black pajama pants he had made himself when he had started sleeping at night in an attempt to help his illness. Slipping into bed, he quickly fell asleep, not waking again until nine in the morning, the sound of Mey-rin dropping something breakable down the hall jostling him from his slumber. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes before getting up to quickly bathe and dress for the day.

As soon as he stepped from the privacy of his room, the clumsy maid ran into him, carrying a broom and dust-pan. He reached out to steady her before she fell back and knock a vase from a table.

"M-Mister Sebastian! It's good to see you out of your room again. Faelan said you were not feeling well…"

"Just go clean what you broke." He sighed, turning to head for the kitchen, checking the time on his pocket watch. He turned the corner and was about to step into the kitchen when his demonic hearing picked up a strong knock at the front door. Abandoning his current path, he headed for the entry hall and opened the door.

Sebastian's eyes then fell upon a man much taller than himself, and a little more slender. The man, of clear, South-East Asian origin, stepped back and bowed deeply upon sighting the dark prince.

" _Malphas...it is a pleasure to see you again_ ," he said in Mandarin once he'd straightened up.

It was not the fashion for men to wear their hair long anymore, but the Oriental's was past his shoulders, a black more obsidian than that of Sebastian's, and it accentuated eyes that hinted at purple. His outfit was a simple, black, one-sleeved monk robe, and it blew gently in the breeze as he greeted the demon.

Sebastian blinked in slight surprise, "I had not expected you to answer my message in person quite yet, doctor. Please, come in." he stepped to the side, holding the door open for him, "I do have some time yet before I must return to my duties." He closed the door and led the medical demon to an empty sitting room, closing the door behind the two of them. Because Ciel had ordered him to help fix whatever was affecting Claude, he thought holding such a meeting would be appropriate in the manor where it was more comfortable. "Please, sit."

Doctor He Jinzhou passed by and took the offered seat and waiting for tea to be poured, as was the custom. "The Qixi festival, the Night of Sevens...It has come to a close, and I find myself with time on my hands, Dark Prince." He watched an albino scampered into the room with tea, and so he relaxed, though the young servant was shaking as he poured his tea, which the doctor found odd and amusing.

"How fortunate." Sebastian moved over and took a seat across from the doctor, "I find myself in need of your help." He dismissed Faelan with a wave of a hand, upholding a princely demure, rather than his more casual side which he normally showed to Faelan when no other demons who knew his rank were around. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

The doctor wrapped unnaturally long fingers around the boy's wrist before he left, and a little smirk flickered over his lips as he watched his pale skin flush red.

"...Today is a day of rest, you know...don't work the poor boy too hard," he murmured, releasing him and letting Faelan scurry out. "He seems so nervous~" Inspecting the tea, however, he found that not a drop had been spilled, and it looked excellent so far.

"I see you took my advice from so long ago and employed a servant."

"Unfortunately, it had become necessary, and even more-so as of recently, which should not surprise you. You had predicted that my attacks would become more frequent." He picked up his own cup of tea and took a sip, frowning slightly. It was excellent tea, as he expected it should be after he taught the albino himself how to properly steep the leaves, but it wasn't Claude's tea, which he had grown most fond of. "As for working him too hard, such things are out of my hands as I am currently under contract and he is handling my responsibilities for the moment. Though my master should not be too demanding at the time-being."

"More frequent, hm..." He continued to sip at the oolong tea while Sebastian explained what had been happening with the Aeterna Fames and how he had been treated for it. Jinzhou thought it was very interesting that there was a medical-class mage demon who knew a treatment he did not...though admittedly he himself had not studied it in detail much after Sebastian. "So...please explain why you have requested my help. Has the treatment become ineffective?"

"No, it still works wonderfully. Why I contacted you is not related to Aeterna Fames, but rather something else completely. We have no idea as to what it is, only that it is related to a head injury that had been sustained. Somehow, it did not heal properly as it should have and is causing problems. Jealousy, paranoia, unfounded suspicion, along with physical ticks such as twitching that seem to stem from it."

Jinzhou was immediately clued in that he was not talking about himself, but someone else...a colleague. The medicine man?

He leaned back in his chair, eyeing Sebastian calmly. "A head wound caused this, hm? Elaborate more on the problems, please."

"He gets…possessive. And angers easily, sometimes striking out physically, seemingly unprovoked. He goes to extreme lengths to keep what he thinks is his, even when he already has it. It affects him so that even when I go to him for treatment, he wastes time before making the potion. He's kept me from returning to my master, so it is affecting my contract." He said, withholding all information that would hint at them being lovers, "He has even threatened his own existence, and I need him alive, understandably. However…last time I saw him for treatment, he went into a seizure, smacking his head on a table. When he awoke, he was back to normal and horrified of his previous actions."

The man took this into account, thinking to himself for a long time. Any normal man would be put to death, but Sebastian required his assistance. And it crossed the Oriental's mind to decline him his own, but then he too could be put to death, and that would just be troublesome.

"Cures for mental disorders in our kind are little worried for. They are considered par for the course, unless they result in fear and weaker emotions, and then that demon may be killed, yes? Usually, I would say there is little I could do for your friend."

"I know you are picky on the patients you take, but I implore you to look into this for me." He paused, thinking, "My continued existence depends on it. He could choose to stop helping me due to this condition and Aeterna Fames would be free to take me as this contract is a difficult one, made even more-so by my constant attacks. Even if he is put to death for it, I would still die, and Hell would have one less prince. I haven't even an heir to take my place. Imagine the chaos."

Jinzhou nodded. He had considered everything Sebastian had said already. "We have been comrades for centuries now, my prince. And while I do not feel I /owe/ you anything...I will assist you with this thing. You have suffered a long time when there was treatment available...I shall do my best to be of actual effect now." He drained his tea.

"You say he took a seizure...and that his other symptoms disappeared. If they return...I want you to bring him to me. I will be in the country for one month...after that, you may have to take a trip to China. I imagine that electroshock therapy will provide a more permanent effect, so that is the treatment I will administer personally to your acquaintance."

"Electroshock…" he repeated, not liking the idea one bit. "Are you sure that is the best option available to him?"

The man's eyes darkened a little. "Do you doubt my skill?" he questioned simply. "I have considered this from every angle based on the information you have delivered _and yes_ , it is the best option. I have prior cases that can attest to it."

"I am not in any way a medical demon, Doctor, I have no bases to doubt your skill. I am simply asking questions so I may better understand what could happen to my…associate." He said, "I wouldn't want his condition to get worse."

"Understandably. I will do what I can with medicines for him, but an an enzyme can do nothing without a substrate. I would insist we try this first. Now, there are _some_ risks...transient memory loss. And the treatment may not be permanent. But you wanted my help and this is all I currently have to offer."

The prince nodded, "…I'll discuss it with him, should he still be in the right state of mind when next I see him. Of course, when you meet with him I'm sure he'd understand it more than I."

"That may be the case. I shall retire back to my dwelling now and deliberate further over this. If I come up with anything better, I shall arrange a meeting with you to discuss it. If you wish to correspond, simply send your familiar over." He stood, bowing deeply once more.

Faelan hovered by the front door to open it as the man left.

"Of course. Thank you for your time and help." Sebastian nodded, seeing him to the door.

Once the doctor had disappeared, Faelan closed the door and rounded on Sebastian. "Come," he said simply, and led the confused butler down to the laundry.

Frowning in slight confusion, Sebastian followed the smaller demon, "I assume something serious needs to be brought to my attention for you to tell me to follow you down here when I should be returning to my own responsibilities?"

The albino took Sebastian by the wrists and pressed him gently against the wall and, for no apparent reason, pressed his lips to Sebastian's and joined their bodies together.

Sebastian didn't respond right away, his eyes widening in shock. His hands slid up Faelan's arms and gripped his shoulders, shoving him back, "What do you think you are doing?" he scowled.

Faelan's gaze fell down to his own hands, the left of which bore a glowing purple mark—the doctor's sign. He looked back up and shoved him back against the wall, meeting his lips again. "It's okay, my prince…"

The larger demon growled dangerously into the kiss, shoving him away again, holding him at arms length with his hand pressed against his sternum. "Faelan, you will resist! You well know the penalty for touching my person in such a way. _Spell_ or not, don't make me think I have been too soft on you." He hissed, making a mental note to scold the doctor for casting such a spell on his assistant. Such low-level pranks were easy for stronger demons to resist and dispel, and he could only hope that Faelan could overpower the spell.

Faelan's hand gripped tightly around Sebastian's wrist, crushing it in his struggle to get Sebastian. It was futile, and after a minute, the glowing faded to nothing and the younger servant dropped to his knees, breathing hard. He didn't dare look up.

Sebastian looked down his nose at the shamed demon, "Have you _regained_ control?" he asked in a strong, commanding voice.

"Punish me," said the albino. "Please. Please punish me." He was trembling and kept his head down, his neck exposed.

"Oh, I intend to. That went too far. Even if it was forced, even as lenient as I have been with you, to actually try and _force_ yourself on me…" his eyes flashed angrily, "You _will_ not allow yourself to be cast under a spell again." His growling voice deepened as he spoke, reaching down and grabbing the young demon's shirt collar, pulling him up, "Understand?"

Faelan started trembling a little more. "I-it...it was an accident.." he whispered, his purple eyes tearing up a little against his will. How he hated for that to happen under Sebastian's gaze.

"I know. But that does not make your actions towards me any less acceptable. I may be sick, and understanding of things, but I am _still_ a _prince_ of Hell, and will be respected as such." As he spoke, he set the youth down on his feet before back-handing him hard across the cheek. "But because it was not truly your doing, I'll go easy on you in this punishment."

The boy was smacked to the ground, and he cowered there, trying to hide tears from Sebastian's hard gaze and pretending he was strong. "I…understand...friend..."

"I don't enjoy this. You have been a good servant and companion…even a friend. I never thought I'd have to punish you for anything." He sighed, letting his tone go softer, his features turning more to disappointment, rather than anger. He stooped down over the albino, grabbing his chin and tilting his head up to face him, his thumb pressing hard against the already purple cheek. He studied the demon's face, ignoring the tears on his face. He, after all, had cried quite a few times recently, so it wouldn't be fair to treat it as a weakness. "This will not affect our relationship, this time. After we leave this room, this never happened. I have few people I can rely on completely. I'll not loose one of them."

Admittedly the demon looked hurt. He had never thought Sebastian would hurt him either. Not once had he ever faltered in his servitude, or disappointed him. He had said 'punish', but some part of him, the larger part of him that thought more as his own person rather than as a mere servant, had hoped he would not do it. That maybe Sebastian thought of him a little more deeper than just his subordinate. A slight whimper escaped him and he closed his eyes, forcing more tears to run. "Understood."

"Good." he sighed, moving his hand down to the other's arm, helping him to his feet. Really, he hated the look on the albino's face, he hated that he had put it there. He really did see the young man as a close friend; his closest, even, not counting his lover.

But the fact was, he was a prince. And Faelan was technically his servant. In Hell, Faelan's actions would have gotten him put to death. He had gone way too easy on him because of how fond he was of the young man.

But he hadn't punished him simply because he had forced himself on him, or that he had hurt his wrist before he had overcome the spell; but also because of his relationship with Claude. His dedication to his lover. But that reason had to stay secret. Faelan didn't know of Sebastian's increasingly human emotions; or his relationship with a demon who would be seen by most demons of royal ranks as being unfitting to be a mate to a prince, and Lucifer forbid that they be mates because of actual romantic feelings such as love. Not that he was ashamed of Claude and his rank, but if the truth was ever found out by the highly-ranked demons, Claude and Sebastian both would be seen as weak for having such emotions. And while Sebastian couldn't be touched, he could be separated from Claude, and Claude could be punished. He refused to risk that.

"I'm sorry, Faelan. You know I had to punish you. I'm quite fond of you, and…you aren't simply a servant to me. But this situation…the punishment was unavoidable."

The albino nodded stiffly, his expression chagrin. "Yes, sir. Of course, sir. You went easier on me than you should." He kept his head bowed. "If there's nothing else...I should be on my way now. Duties."

"We both should…" he said, checking the time, "Please take the time, first, to wash up, and hide that bruise. I hadn't meant to hit you quite that hard."

The servant flitted from the room. As a lower class demon, nobody particularly cared if he had emotions or not. He was servant class, an unbreakable caste...no one had high expectations for him. He hid in his room, and wept a little. The doctor he'd had such an immediate crush on, had played such a cruel prank on him.

Sitting on his bed with a fresh headache and red eyes, he thought to what he'd tasted on Sebastian's lips. Another demon. Claude Faustus.

It confirmed Faelan's suspicions.

* * *

To be continued...


	15. Chapter 15

The demon butler sighed, closing the door to Ciel's bedroom after putting him to bed for the night. The day had felt like it had drug on forever, despite his sleeping in that morning. Finny, Mey-rin, and Bard hadn't made his return to work an easy one; causing more messes than usual.

He walked to his small room, tapping the door closed and hardly paying it any attention as it stopped, still open a crack as he quickly ported to Claude, hoping the spider was still fully in control once more.

Claude was surprised to see Sebastian as he sat in his room, reading a book. He lowered it upon seeing the demon. "Good evening."

"Good evening." He smiled brightly, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed next to his lover, "How are you feeling?"

"Well, fine," Claude replied, adjusting his glasses and straightening his white and red striped pajamas. "It's only been a day. I'm still sane," he smirked.

"I'd hope so. But always good to ask." He chuckled, "The doctor I told you about showed up this morning. I've convinced him to help you."

Claude slid over in bed and patted a spot for the demon to slip in beside him once he'd removed his shoes. "That's good," he replied, eager for the demon's contact.

The smaller demon complied, slipping off his shoes and settling comfortably on the bed, propped up on the pillow that Claude was using as a back support while he read, "Of course, he wishes to see you in person. You know more than I do about your condition. I could only tell him what I have witnessed, and I am unsure about the treatment he suggested from what I had been able to tell him. I don't like the sound of it at all."

Claude put his book down, resting a hand on Sebastian's stomach and nuzzling against him. "What treatment would that be?" he questioned.

"…He suggested electroshock treatment." He admitted, wrapping his arms around Claude, "I truly hope it doesn't even come close to that."

Claude looked up at him slowly. "...Mh. What...to trigger more seizures?" he asked, frowning.

"I don't know…He suggested it after I mentioned you got better after your seizure…"

The demon frowned and looked away. "I don't want to have more seizures," he said irritably. "They're awful, humiliating things."

"I just don't want you hurting…" the crow whispered, caressing the other's cheek with his fingers, "But I want you better…I want you to be in control so you can still be the man I fell in love with. I'll love you either way, but, things are better with you as yourself."

"Yes," Claude replied, laying his head against Sebastian's chest. "I want to treat you right, Malphas." He draped a flannel-clad arm over the crow's middle.

Sebastian hugged him, "We'll fix you. I promise. If you were able to find a potion that helps to slow my attacks and keep my illness from killing me sooner…I'm sure we can find a cure for you." He kissed the top of his head.

The demon was rather affectionate. He slipped his hand up the man's shirt, feeling the warmth of his body, and moved up to take his lips gently. "I...perhaps...missed you."

"So soon?" he teased lightly, "I may be able to come more often…after I had to tell Bocchan of you and refused his order to kill you, he ordered me to instead, help you. That gives me the opportunity to see you more when I'm not required to be by his side…" he muttered with a small smile, right before their lips met.

Claude relaxed against his partner, circling his stomach with one finger. "...Did you get sick again?" he asked soothingly, after the warm and gentle kiss. There was an odd taste on his lips.

"…My contract punished me for nearly the whole day yesterday." He said, "But it's mostly healed."

Claude sighed as he gently caressed Sebastian's chest. "I am so sorry you had to endure that again," he murmured.

"I took it willingly….the worst part was Bocchan seeing it." He sighed, "I just hope it doesn't have to happen again. It really is getting worse. And I'd hate for it to trigger another attack, dealing with both at the same time would be-"

Claude slipped Sebastian into his arms and rolled him over on top of him, holding him close, affectionately, very unlike a demon. It was easier to soothe him with actions rather than words.

"Mmm…" he smiled, resting against his lover, "I wish we could spend time like this more often…"

"One day...we will have all the time in the world." His hand stroked Sebastian's flawless body from shoulder to backside, back and forth, and he squeezed him gently. "I find myself desiring this simple affection now. It is calming, and peaceful."

The crow nodded in agreement, "I have not had many opportunities to relax for a long time. Enjoying it with you…" he gave the other a small affectionate squeeze, "…I very much would like to do nothing else…well…most of the time." He gave a small chuckle, "I'm sure we won't be able to keep our hands off each other in more lustful ways…"

"Glad to hear I haven't turned you off such things, Sebastian. Even gladder to hear you want more," he said with a smirk. "Naturally it is hard to keep my hands off a prince with an allure such as yours."

Sebastian's soft smile faltered, dropping to a small frown, "…Please don't mention my rank…not tonight." He muttered, remembering what had happened that morning with Faelan.

Claude tilted his head. "A prince not wanting to be a prince?" he questioned. "Care to explain?"

"I'm afraid the doctor, for what-ever reason, chose to play a prank today, and cast a spell on Faelan." He muttered, somewhat bitterly.

"That would explain...the taste of that man on your lips," Claude replied, meeting his eyes a little coolly.

"He was punished for it." He sighed, "After he finally snapped out of it and stopped trying to force himself on me, calling me by my title. I'd rather not be reminded of such events right now."

Claude's warm hands touched the skin of his back gently. "...Perhaps there's some princely rule I'm failing to recognize here, but...why punish a faithful subordinate when it was the fault of another?"

"I didn't want to…but if I hadn't and word got out about the incident, he would have been faced with much worse. And the doctor knows he cast the spell. He could easily spread word of Faelan's actions, and because of his rank, he wouldn't stand much of a chance unless I myself gave him a lesser punishment…though…I did hit him harder than I intended…due to emotions I couldn't quite control." He turned his ruby eyes up at Claude, "…because of my loyalty to our relationship…"

Claude sighed. "I don't enjoy thinking of you as that man. That punitive prince. It almost makes me think of Danna-sama, and those are indeed not pleasant thoughts," he replied. "But if you wish it, I shall not bring it up...and we shall merely enjoy one-another's company for a while."

"I do not like it either. Having to do such things like that…" he shook his head, "My rank required me to do such things at times…my comfort had always been that Faelan, at least, was loyal and never before needed punishment, his touches were only to help me during an attack. And my illness keeps me up here away from Hell, so I'm able to be lenient and forgiving on things most of the time. This was the first time I've had to act out as a prince against anyone…I didn't like it." He sighed, curling up into the spider, "That's why I'm so happy you see me as an equal. You don't treat me as my rank. And, now that we are together, you don't let my rank stop you from acting on your emotions with me."

"You could punish me for not addressing you and treating you with that same sort of worship protocol. If someone saw you with me, they would have questions. Yes, you may love me, but what makes me any different from him?" He asked, curling Sebastian up tightly into his hold.

Sebastian held his eyes closed for a moment, "His actions upon my person were unwanted. Yours are not. I do not punish him for treating me like a friend. If they found out about us…it's not like you forced me. They can't punish you if I say it was consensual…as long as they don't find out about my emotions of love for you. They won't be happy about us, but…if they think it's me using you as a lustful release…they can't touch you."

Claude shook his head. "...No. No, what you're saying is nonsense. You can take as many bloody lovers, of any class, any race, and no one will question you twice."

"As long as 'weaker' emotions are not involved. The higher the rank, the more 'perfect' a demon is supposed to be. Lovers…concubines… they are one thing…love is something different."

"I know," Claude replied. "But who are they to question whether your feelings are genuine or not?" Some part of him...made him think that ...perhaps he was protecting Faelan. Maybe he _had_ those love feelings for the boy; as Claude had thought all along.

No, that was nonsense. That was wrong. His eye twitched just a little.

Sebastian opened his eyes and looked up at him, "If I could change it, I would. I wish I could show my feelings for you publicly and not have to worry about such things. The way things are run in our world…I wish it would change."

"I don't know if I should be regretful that I was not born into a caste yours would consider worthy. I care little for the classes of demons. If I was not what I am, perhaps you would die." He prodded Sebastian's chest. "And those rules don't apply up here. I have enough dignity that I refuse to be shielded away from watching eyes just because I'm with you."

"I have taken you out on a date, have I not? I'm not shielding you. And I'm not ashamed of you. We shouldn't have a problem unless we return to Hell."

Claude rested a hand on his hip. "...Good. Because…I don't want to return to hell. However, you've contradicted yourself...if no one was around to see, you didn't have to punish that boy." He sat up. "Anyway, enough chit-chat." He pressed another kiss to his lips.

Sebastian frowned, feeling worse about hitting Faelan. He really hadn't liked doing it, and he hadn't wanted to…but at the time, he was sure it'd be better than the alternative. He'd have to make it up to the boy; maybe grant him the opportunity to raise his status from simply a 'servent' He had already brought the boy's status up when he entered his services…and he had seen—and understood the look on Faelan's face when the albino's eyes caught sight of the doctor. He couldn't do much for those emotions, but he could bring the boy up to where he's be aloud, even in Hell, to take hold of his own fate.

But his thoughts were quickly pushed aside by the feel of his lover's lips on his own. He pressed into the kiss, sliding his arms up around the larger demon with a soft moan.

Claude's eyes slid to a little spider that had descended onto Sebastian's shoulder. "...Ah...We wonder what Sebastian's motives are," Claude murmured, grasping the butler's firm backside once more.

"Mmm… my motives were to update you on a few things…I was successful. What are your motives?" he smirked, his hand running down the length of the other's arm until it rested on his hand that gripped his rear.

"Well..." He squeezed tightly on the soft area he'd grasped. "When Sebastian comes over...I like to do several things. Of course, usually when he comes, I make his treatment for him, and I make him tea. I'm guessing you have other things on your mind besides tea, though.." He rolled over so he was sitting on top of his lover.

"Well, while I don't need treatment, tea wouldn't be unwelcome." He smiled up at Claude, "But you are starting to make me think of other things, yes." His grin widened, flashing his fangs as his hands continued to wander.

"Alas...a problem has arisen. I do consider myself an English gentleman...and I must choose between tea or sex. Next time I shall have to combine the two...how do you like being drenched in scalding liquid?" he asked, his golden eyes glinting as he nipped at his ear.

"I can find pleasure in pain." He smirked, "I'm willing to try anything with you. Should you wish to burn me, then you may do so. Just be sure to heal me with that deliciously long tongue of yours when we are done."

"Oh, I will...I love seeing how you react to my saliva~" he teased, his hand slipping down into the man's pants and lightly stroking his length with two fingers. "Mm...you're so firm," he commented.

"You have that affect on me." Sebastian smirked, rolling his hips to press against the digits stroking him. He leaned down, running the tip of his tongue along Claude's neck up to his ear.

The demon's skin prickled. "Mm...tell...tell the doctor there has to be another option. I don't want to take any more seizures."

He nodded, "And I don't want you to, either. I don't want you to suffer. I thought, that because you are a medical demon, you could help him find a better way."

"...Then I will try my best," Claude replied. And with that, he began to slip the demon's shirt open. "Since another man has been on you, I will have to mark my territory once more." He rubbed his groin against Sebastian's.

The crow moaned, bucking up against him in encouragement, "You may make it permanent if you wish. I'll not be giving myself to another." He said, shrugging out of his shirt and reaching up to the man's pajama top, pinching open the buttons.

"How would you suggest I permanently mark you, hm?" Claude asked softly of him, letting the striped flannel top fall away and slowly gyrating against Sebastian's crotch.

"Hmm? Don't spiders have ways of permanently marking their mates? I know crows do." Sebastian muttered, his fingers sliding down over Claude's abs and along his happy trail.

Claude gave him a predatory little smile. "It will hurt, but I know you can take it. If you don't mind, then I shall go right ahead." With a little click, a green light erupted from his finger tip, and he looked over him. "Where shall I mark you, hm...?"

"Anywhere, so long as it'll be covered by my uniform." he smirked, running his fingertips down along his own body, starting at his shoulder. "I believe that gives you quite the range."

"Then I shall mark over your heart...because that is mine," the purple-haired man replied, letting his tongue flick over Sebastian's nipple. He raised a glowing finger, the black nail of which extended into a claw. He slowly, eloquently began to carve his sigil into the pale flesh over the demon's heart.

"Nn…" Closing his eyes, Sebastian stayed still, absorbing the pain as the sigil was carved into him. his heart pounding against his chest as he felt Claude's magic melding into him.

Claude kissed his chest as he worked, but was careful to make his work flawless. He licked blood up as it ran, a gentle moan escaping. "Shh," he said soothingly. "It's almost done."

When the circular seal was finished being inscribed, he cleaned the wound and sat back. Black lines had followed his nail. It was essentially a tattoo.

The crow let out a breath he had been holding, his shimmering eyes looking down upon the mark now marring his perfect skin, a blush rising to his cheeks Sitting up, he captured the other's lips, wrapping his arms around him, "Shall I be allowed to do the same?" he breathed against his lips.

"My, my...what will you ever do if we separate? That mark will never disappear, nor will it fade," he smirked. "I find it honorable of you to make such a commitment. As such, I will allow you to do the same to me. I can't imagine myself having these sentiments for anyone else. So you might as well." He got off him and lay against the sheets, his dark hair curling against the pillow. He playfully lowered the cloth of his pants, revealing curls of the exact same shade.

"I do not plan to separate myself from you." He said gently, running his hand along Claude's hips, "Ever." His fingers continued over the demon's skin, tracing his body as he chose a place to mark him, "Your reasoning for the spot you chose makes it too tempting for me to follow suit." He muttered, leaning over and pressing a kiss to the skin over his heart, moving his fingers up, just under the nipple, "I think I must."

The crow moved to straddle his lover's hips, his own nail growing out into a claw and glowing a dark purple, feathers that were more like shadows in the air began to fall around them as he began to carve his own sigil.

Claude grit his teeth as the nail carved into his flesh. It was certainly a painful experience.

But Sebastian had said he didn't plan to separate. And, because a demon falling in love was so rare, it made sense that the relationship should last forever. "Till the sun burns out, Malphas. And long after we're dead." He kept a grip in the man's dark hair.

Carefully, making sure it was perfect, Sebastian finished his mark and leaned down, licking up the blood that had spilt. "For eternity." He whispered, moving up to take his lips.

"It's permanent now," he murmured as they kissed. He could taste his own blood on the demon's lips now—It was vastly preferable to the taste of the albino. "Nnn...realized any little kinks of yours yet?" he whispered to his partner, slipping his hand inside the man's pants once more.

"Mm, We haven't really played around with much yet, but this," he rolled his hips, grinding his hardened shaft against Claude's, "Isn't simply from your blood. I enjoyed the pain you gave me. and…as inconvenient as it was, I did still enjoy restrictions when you held me here." he nuzzled his neck, "I'm sure we could get a few ideas on that."

"It is almost cute," Claude remarked. "Little, inexperienced prince. Good thing I know what I'm doing..." He continued the grinding motions against him. "We have a long time to learn, though..."

"For learning mine…and sharing yours." He said with a moan, connecting their lips, "What would you like to try tonight, Cimeries?"

Claude looked thoughtful. If they were going to play around then, "...I'd like to see...how long you can…endure…" he decided.

Sebastian nodded, "We can test that." He smiled, hooking his thumbs in the waist of his pants to push them from his hips.

"Good~" Claude smirked. "An easy one to start you off. Because, Sebastian, I want to see you writhe," he whispered, baring his fangs. "And moan in utmost desperation. Mmhmhm.." He stripped from his striped pants, wearing white cotton boxers underneath.

Tossing his cloths to the floor, Sebastian blushed, "Only for you. I'll only let you see me in such ways." He slipped out of his black boxers and tossed them aside as well, leaving himself completely exposed before he tugged at Claude's own boxers.

"Likewise," responded the spider demon. "Normally I would not ever show such a face, but alas…the glass of reason shatters." He allowed the man to undress him fully.

"I assume you have something to use for this? Or should I fetch something?" the crow asked, making his way back up Claude's body, trailing light kisses.

"Exactly what sort of 'something' are you looking for?" Claude purred, nipping at the exposed skin of the demon.

"We both know the best way to test…and push endurance." He said, reaching down as squeezing the base of his lover's shaft, "Of course, we could test yours as well…see if you can't break through…"

Claude's hand wandered to the proud-standing erection of Sebastian. He took the base and neatly began to wrap make patterns over it with his fingers, creating a tight ring at the bottom and winding it even tighter. "How does that feel, hm?"

"Ghnn…Tight…" Sebastian looked up at Claude, face already flushed, he leaned in and kissed him, moving his lips hungrily against the other's, "Will we be testing you, or shall we begin?"

"I'm up for it. God forbid you develop a taste in seeing such a face on me, but..I'm up for absolutely anything." He began to spin the web over the base of his own length until it was just as tight.

"We'll see." He smirked, attacking his lips once more and sliding his body along Claude's, "We'll learn a few things about each other…"

"Ah, finally," he muttered, his kisses growing more feisty as he pinned Sebastian against the sheets, his fingers going straight to the man's nipples, then he took their twin erections and began to stroke them together.

Sebastian groaned and grabbed Claude's upper arms, his black nails cutting into his skin slightly as he pulled him deeper into the kiss, his lips parting so their tongues could meet in a dance between their aggressive lips. Their first time together had been as gentle and loving as two demons could make it, but now Sebastian intended to sample lust mixed with their lovemaking.

The demon groaned and tossed his glasses aside, pushing his unruly hair off his forehead. Claude tasted the scent of carnal lust coming through Sebastian's aura. If they were going to play dirty this time, he had no complaints. He was used to playing rough. Wordlessly, he pinned Sebastian to the bed, deepening their feisty kiss, and pressing his hips hard against Sebastian's, grinding against the thick warmth beneath him.

"Mmn…" the crows hips rocked up against Claude's, roughening the grind and almost drawing a gasp from his lips, making him shiver. His hands moved up to Claude's back, holding him tight as his body responded to every small movement, and every grind of their members against each other.

Claude's teeth scratched against Sebastian's shoulder and along his clavicle, drawing blood and lapping it up keenly. Then he moved down, nipping and suckling his nipples hungrily, his breathing deepening. He released a heady moan as he looked over Sebastian's body, including the tattooed sigil.

"Nhh… Claude…" the smaller demon shifted under the other, giving another roll of his hips and dragging his nails down his back before licking the red liquid he drew out, off his fingers.

Locks of violet hair fell messily around the spider demon's face as he hovered above him. Black claws brushed tenderly against Sebastian's face for a single movement before Claude moved back down to his length and trailed kisses along it, drawing a sharp intake of breath from Sebastian's parted lips, his eyes closing and his hips rolling to meet Claude's lips. His hand tangled firmly in the other's dark locks.

Claude let his tongue slide along the warm flesh, from base to tip, his tongue flickering over the centre, then he sucked sharply while his hand moved to massage his testicles. Occasionally he glanced up at his lover and smirked a little.

Sebastian's face was brightly hued, a bright red glow shimmering through the thin slits in his mostly closed eyes. His lips parted in a series of soft pants, an occasional moan slipping out.

"Even a little temptation like this gets you so hot and bothered~?" teased the older demon. He took him into his mouth and sucked deeply, roughly, even nipping a little.

"It's…gnnnh…more sensitive when it's you touching me…" he gasped, "I learned that at the th-theater…Ah!" instinctively; the crow thrust up into the other's wet cavern of a mouth when he felt the sting of fangs nipping at his length.

Claude drew back and chuckled a little. "Sensitive indeed," he murmured, letting his fingers wander to his entrance and rub gently until the area was wet.

The butler hummed lustfully, pressing his entrance against the fingers stimulating him, "…Please, Claude…" he whispered in a hushed moan. He bit his lip, causing it to bleed as he pulled Claude's hair, guiding him back up into a bloody kiss, offing him more of his blood.

Claude came forward for it eagerly, lapping it up and feeling his erection leap enthusiastically as a jolt ran through at the magnificent taste of Sebastian's blood. "N-ngh..." He pushed a finger into the warm, wet walls of Sebastian.

Sebastian shivered as his lover suckled on his lip, the same pleasures racking through his body as the time he had given Claude his blood as partial payment meeting and mixing with the pleasure from a single skilled finger probing his entrance. "Ah…Claude…bite me…" he moaned, reaching down and stroking the spider's shaft, "I want you to drink me…"

Claude shivered in anticipation. "I would love to," he replied, pressing further inside while his skilled tongue moistened an area on Sebastian's neck. "How much can I take?" He grazed his teeth against the skin as he worked his finger around inside him. His breathing grew heavier.

"No more than last time…I think…I need to be able to work tomorrow…" he breathed, tilting his head to offer more of his neck.

"Of course." He let his teeth form fangs akin to that of a spider and he pierced Sebastian's skin deeply. When the blood welled up and began to run, the fangs retracted and he swept in to lick up the sweet red liquid.

The crow moaned and began to stoke his lover faster, breathing harder as his blood was coaxed out and greeted by a long tongue.

Claude released an audible groan, grabbing his shoulder and bringing his lips to the wound, sucking deeply, hungrily, while his finger wriggled inside Sebastian. He joined it with another as he started to pant. "Sweet elixir," he murmured.

"Ghnnn…ahh!" spreading his legs, he started to moved, riding the fingers twisting and scissoring inside him. His grip tightening more around Claude's shaft as he pumped him, "Claude…"

"You want it, don't you," he whispered. "You want me to fuck you." His fingers thrust roughly inside him without mercy, and he made more scratches to drink blood from. "Nn-nghh..!"

"Yes…" he moaned, "Claude…please…fuck me…" he opened his glowing eyes, looking at his lover, blushing and leaning into his ear, a little embarrassed, but too lustful to care about his next words, "Make me beg you for release…"

Claude smiled in triumph. "Yes. You will." He suckled down the red substance for a few moments longer before parting Sebastian's thighs further. He gave himself a few strokes before pushing the head against Sebastian's entrance, like last time.

"Ahh!" gasping in pleasure, he hooked his legs around Claude's hips, urging him to continue, tensing his inner muscles for a second around Claude, "Don't be gentle…"

So Claude did, pushing hard inside him and not stopping until he was completely sheathed within the man. "Then I shan't," he whispered, his nails dragging over Sebastian's skin.

Sebastian yelped at the feeling of being filled completely, so fast, and then hummed his reply, "Good…Nnmmm…" he pressed against the nails and shifted his hips, causing slight rubbing around Claude's length.

Claude groaned in response. It was harder to receive pleasure when he was bound up this way, so he would make Sebastian scream for his orgasm.

The crow slid a leg up along Claude's side, hooking it over his shoulder, "Claude…." He moaned, rolling his hips to encourage the other to start moving.

The demon obliged. Holding Sebastian's dainty leg over his shoulder, he began to push and slid within him. With Claude's size, Sebastian's tightness was choking. But the pain was lovely.

"Nngh…" Sebastian closed his eyes, moaning along with his lover's movements, his back arcing off the bed slightly, already feeling his member throbbing with pleasure.

Claude's face flushed attractively with pleasure. "O-oh…" He picked up his rhythm and rode the demon hard, bending him forward with every thrust and gripping the leg tightly. The healthy flush spread over his body along with a gentle sheen of sweat as he thrust deeply into Sebastian.

"Ahh-Ahn!" The crow's body was forced into rocking and sliding against the sheets with each thrust he took. His hands balled into fists, one entangled in the other demon's dark hair, the other gripping the sheet under him, straining the cloth until it slipped off the corner of the mattress.

Watching Sebastian's face so contorted with pleasure was deeply satisfying to Claude, and he moved onto the next step. Though sex with Sebastian was not an orderly, systematic process, it was wild and rough and frenzied, and without warning he honed in on his sweet spot and began to ram it again and again. "Haa… _aagh_..." The spider demon began to lose focused thought.

" _AHH!_ Cl- _Claude_!" Sebastian screamed out, his flushed face darkening as he began to writhe under him, unable to keep still, his member throbbing harder and twitching. "Mmm!" He could already feel it, his climax teetering on the edge, about to discover it would be denied the decent into pure ecstasy, and Claude had reached a similar problem—when he was sure he was about to see white and feel his body tremble in waves of pleasure, there was no release and he gave a strangled cry of desperation.

"Aaaahh!" It was all there, at the very base, just aching to be released, but it couldn't.

"Ohh…ghaa! I—'m th-there…Clau-aude!" he gasped out in a low, lustful voice, his hips thrusting as if the movement would magically allow him his release. "Ngyhnh! F-fuck!"

Claude bared his teeth and shredded Sebastian's thighs with his nails in frustration, and he continued to move within him as if he could overcome the tight bounding on the base of his length. He swore in his home tongue, and of course Sebastian knew exactly what he was saying.

The longer he was kept from release, the more time seemed to speed up for the crow demon, and the rougher he got, his claws ripping into the mattress and Claude's shoulder. His body stretching and his fangs lengthening. He could even feel a slight headache as his horns began to curl up from beneath his messy hair; all his control lost.

Claude watched Sebastian's horns curl out of his skull as his own followed suit, large and proud. He could feel his wings writhing under his skin but they stayed put. He thrust harder and harder, his eyes flashing hungrily, but he knew if they didn't get release soon, they'd tear each other apart in search of it.

"Uuh…Oh, Sweet Lucifer…. Khhh! C-Cimeries! Hhha, Please! I c-can't take it!" The smaller began to beg, his tail sliding out and wrapping snake-like around Claude's thigh, his wings starting to crack his shoulder blades as they slid out, the black feathers ruffling against the bed.

Claude felt Sebastian's power increase as he transformed, and naturally he followed suit, enormous wings cracking open and rising above him. His tail took Sebastian's thigh in a vice like grip. " _Malphas_ ," he said through gritted teeth. The demon was begging now? Odd, because Claude himself felt on the urge of breaking down and begging him too.

More blood was spilled.

Sebastian bit down hard on his lip, his body twisting so that his chest was hovering parallel over the bed, his hips on his side as his leg was still hooked over his lover's shoulder. A string of demonic words spilling from his lips as he tore the bed and pillows apart, white downy feathers all over the bed, starting to mix with the black feathers that started to appear and float in the air. His wings flexing in desperation.

Claude growled deeply. It was unbearable. He couldn't take it any longer, so he reached a claw down and sliced the web binding Sebastian's length, finally allowing him release. And trembling in frantic desire he followed suit, doing the same to himself. Once the web was gone he came instantly in an orgasm that left him stunned. White lights popped and he cried out loudly as he rode the climax, shooting spurt after spurt of hot semen inside him.

Sebastian also came the second the webbing was cut, creamy white shooting out and soaking the wrinkled sheets under him, a loud moan-mixed scream ripping from his lips, his entire body tensing and arching painfully as he rode out his climax. Finally collapsing weakly onto the bed, relaxing and trembling with left over heat and pleasure.

For Claude, it wasn't enough, and after a minute of recovery he pinned Sebastian and began wrestling with him, entangling wings and tails and horns together in the dying throes of demonic lust.

"Ahh?" Claude's actions took the crow butler by surprise, "A-Again?" he gasped, his spent erection overly sensitive after his climax as it was rubbed against in the spider's movement.

Claude didn't reply, hovering over him and forcing himself under control. Eventually he cleared his throat. "No. My, ah, my apologies." His animalistic side had taken him over for a second. His wings folding in, he dropped to the bed.

Sebastian gave an airy sigh and relaxed again, smiling tiredly and pulling the other down into a kiss, "It's not that I would have objected. I just didn't expect another round so quickly."

Claude smirked. "It's good to hear you're not a one-round wonder, Michaelis. But it wasn't my intention. I think my worse half felt like a playful wrestle. Like lion cubs, perhaps."

The crow chuckled, "I think your bed barely survived us the first time. I doubt it'd survive again…" he said, holding up a white goose feather.

Claude groaned as his more demonic attributes made themselves scarce. "Admittedly that half has much less control than I do. I am surprised I transformed."

"I am too…I've never started transforming during sex before…" Sebastian blushed, glancing back at his wings, "I think I'll blame you for it." He smiled, drawing back in his demonic energy so his horns and the rest would return to being hidden.

Feeling in completely control of himself once more, Claude trailed his black nails along Sebastian's cheek, "I appreciate you coming by, Mi—Sebastian. It was an enjoyable experience."

"Any and every time I can get the chance to come to see you attack-free, we can repeat this as much as you wish." The raven smiled fondly, "And I'll speak to the doctor tomorrow, telling him you want him to consider other methods of treatment."

Claude slipped his fingers inside Sebastian's mouth for a minute. "Excellent," he murmured, holding his hip. Every little twitch of Sebastian's body under his hand was oddly satisfying—he like the feeling of him shifting, wriggling, squirming, _writhing_...like prey. He blushed secretively to himself.

Sebastian gently nipped at and sucked on the spider's fingers, the remnant pale pink of a flushed face still apparent on his cheeks, shifting to close the space between them and press up to his body.

Claude drew back, his fingers coated in the demon's saliva, and began to suck it off his own fingers. "Ah, you taste so nice," he murmured. "Granted, your blood tastes better..." He smirked at him with half-lidded eyes. Sebastian was truly a seductive creature.

"Aren't you lucky you get to taste me as much as you want, then." He chuckled gently, "Especially my blood. That truly is only yours to sample…" he leaned in, sucking along his neck and leaving behind a few red marks.

Claude gave a soft little groan of contentedness. "Good...because I intend to...taste...all of you," he whispered, his hand running over his lower regions while he nipped at whatever skin Sebastian exposed.

"Watch it…we may just start up another round." the smaller demon teased with a small groan, rolling his hips to further his point.

Claude smirked a little. "But Sebastian, I'm thirsty," he purred, finding his lips and kissing him slowly.

His cheeks darkened, "That would stoke the fire for us both for sure…And I don't know how much Blood I can give without weakening myself too much tonight…" he whispered.

"Hmmm," Claude breathed into his ear. "Maybe you'll have to give me something else instead." His tongue slid up his neck and over his ear, and he was careful to breathe across the wet area, effectively stimulating the raven.

"Mmmm…Take it…" he moaned, unable to resist Claude's seduction, "I'm _all_ yours as it is…"

Claude kissed him. "Ah, sweet Sebastian. You give yourself over so easily," he crooned. "Alas, I think you should be on your way now, yes...? I'll leave you...looking forward to next time."

"…Perhaps you're right. I have duties to attend to. But I'll be back." He smiled and kissed him deeply before moving to gather his clothes once more to leave.

* * *

To be continued...


	16. Chapter 16

The following week was, for the most part, uneventful for the crow demon. He took the time to speak with the medical demon after putting Ciel to bed one night, finding himself pleading with the demon to consider other treatments for Claude. He had also taken Faelan aside one evening to apologize further about the punishment, and offering him the chance at a life beyond servitude.

Sebastian also found the time to visit Claude a few more times before he suffered another attack, leading him to be seated upon a sofa in a warm lounge of the former Trancy Estate. His tea was long gone, and he was leaning contentedly against his lover's shoulder, "I should head back soon…" he sighed, not really wanting to leave Claude's side just yet.

Over the week, Claude's complexes had slowly began to return. Especially after Faelan was offered a promotion of sorts. He had declined the offer for the electrotherapy and was still awaiting news of a more preferable treatment. The little facial tics were coming back. The urge to lose his temper over tiny things—not just with Sebastian, but with anything and anyone. He was barely aware he was on the decline however.

Claude affectionately pet the hair of his demon partner. Admittedly, he had been a little quiet that day, it was all due to an odd dream he had had the previous night; a very odd dream.

He had dreamed of the night on the ship. He dreamed of himself, down in the lower-class decks making food and almost enjoying the human atmosphere. And he dreamed of Sebastian...the man who was supposed to be tending to his master, but in actuality, he was lighting a fire down in the engineering decks.

He dreamed it had been Sebastian who had started everything that night with the pure intent of breaking Claude's mind the way it had been. That Sebastian wanted to make him weaker and dependent on him like Sebastian had been dependent on him. The cunning, intelligent demon had done it all on purpose.

Claude had watched himself be blown across the room by the explosion in the boiler room, had watched Sebastian swim through the wreckage, and he watched Sebastian's upper lip curl into a look of pure distaste when he found out that Claude was not a mangled wreck.

It had ended soon after that, and Claude had spent the day—all day, even during their latest hot love-making session, trying to separate dream from reality. What he had seen was not true. There was no way Sebastian could have controlled the factors that led to Claude's injury. And yet...his mind wouldn't let him let go of the thought.

Sebastian sat up and gave a gentle smile before pressing a kiss to Claude's cheek, "I'll see what I can do about returning tomorrow night after Bocchan's in bed. Maybe we can go out together again."

"Hm?" said Claude, rousing from his thoughts. "Where would you like to go?" he asked, rubbing the man's bare shoulder. Sebastian was always so attractive after a round of hot sex, though they'd had a good half an hour to pull themselves together.

"I overheard Bocchan and Young Lady Elizabeth speaking of a restaurant. They both seemed to be in agreement over how good the food is." The demon suggested, his eyes scanning the room to see where his clothes had landed. He had, after all, been quite out of it when their lust had taken over—due to the fact that he had just finished taking his treatment for his attack.

"We have done that already, and each time you dine with me you look as if you're about to lose your stomach. Perhaps you want to consider something a little more demon-friendly. ...Hm, that's an oxymoron," he mused to himself, lightly tapping a spider back and forth as it hung from a string. "Let's do something different."

"Like what? You hardly seem interested in the plays we have gone to see…you always spend the second half indulging in me a bit early." The crow teased, "And alcohol has no effect on a demon, so their isn't much point in a pub…unless you'd want to try dancing…"

Claude turned his head to the side. "I don't need to be taken anywhere," he muttered. "I don't need such superficial things as one would find in a human relationship. It's not the same."

"I just…thought it'd be nice to do something else together sometimes…" the crow sighed, "But if you don't wish to, we can simply continue to stay cooped up warm in this house."

"My, that is a little sentimental of you, Michaelis. I should be touched." He twitched a little, continuing to play with the spider.

"…You're twitching again…" Sebastian frowned, reaching up to touch his face, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he muttered. The spider settled on his shoulder, adopting a threatening stance at Sebastian. He looked away. That had annoyed him for some reason.

"Well…if you ever need anything…I am here for you." Sebastian whispered, frowning at the stance the arachnid gave off, it's beady eyes fixed on him, "But if you are sure you are fine, I'll be returning to Bocchan. There are chores I must attend to before dawn."

"Really?" Claude found himself asking. "What sort of chores, hm? No doubt they involve your little concubine."

"Claude…" Sebastian cupped his lover's cheeks, "I don't have concubines. And you know Faelan isn't one. I'm yours, remember?" he slid a hand down and took Claude's hand, pressing it to the seal over his heart, "Only yours."

"Ah?" he muttered, his gaze lowering to his chest. "I don't...remember this seal...what...oh, right. No, I do. You were marking your territory. Sort of like a dog." And in truth, he had done the same.

A disgusted look twisted Sebastian's features, "It was not like that at all, Cimeries! No need to make it sound so…disgustingly canine. We marked each other out of love."

Claude said nothing, staring at Sebastian's face with little alarm bells going off in his head. "...You..." he muttered. That face...Sebastian had made that exact same face in his dream last night. When he found his body. That look of hatred. That was it for Claude. He silently went off the deep end, and it didn't even show after the initial shock, "Really?" he muttered as the spider seemed to hiss at Sebastian, its front legs raised in the air and its venomous fangs bared. "Are you sure...you weren't just marking me as yours?

"Claude…if that was my intent, I wouldn't have let you mark me. And you marked me first… Please, it's your condition acting up again. Calm down." He reached out to cup the demon's cheek once more.

Claude stared hard at him. His condition? The condition that Sebastian had caused, himself? "Oh, really? I mean, you could have just...urinated on me, or something, if you wanted to be like that. I must give you _some_ credence..."

"What are you even saying? Cimeries…" he kept his voice gentle, though he flinched irritably at the canine reference again, "We marked each other equally. This mark I left on you…it's a symbol of my dedication to you. That I love only you." He pressed his hand over the mark.

Claude stood up, buckling his pants. "I...are you sure that's what it's for?" The facial tics came again, and he turned away from him. "I mean...I meant it, when I marked you, Malphas...but after what you did to me on the ship, are you sure its not just another way you're trying to control me? Your little power play?"

"What? Claude..." Sebastian stood up, not bothering to pull on his pants before approaching the spider demon, reaching out to hug him, "What is this all about?"

"Don't touch me," Claude hissed quickly, an angry spider leaping onto Sebastian's shoulder and biting him. "I had a vision last night. The proverbial shroud has been lifted." He turned his head, golden eyes flashing threateningly. " _I know what you did_."

Sebastian flinched in pain, instinctively trying to brush the spider off him, "I didn't do anything, Claude."

Claude watched the little arachnid go flying, and he reached out and struck him. "How dare you," he muttered, kneeling to pick it up tenderly after hitting the man. "And how dare you try to play me for a fool."

"I'm not!" he said, rubbing the bruising mark. "And it bit me. I didn't mean to hurt it… Claude…please…come with me to see the Doctor." He knelt down next to his lover.

"Are you going to do this every time I get what one would call 'upset' about something? Blame it on my..." The scar prickled hard, and his knees shook a little.

"…Only when you won't see reason and have ridiculous accusations." Sebastian said matter-of-factly.

"Who are you to judge? Just because I disagree with you?" the demon asked, straightening up and stepping closer to the demon. Striking Sebastian, in the past, used to ease his anger, but now his scar only prickled worse. 'Every time I get angry, you'll just call 'scar' and my argument must be invalidated." He adjusted his glasses, scowling heavily.

"Last time you accused me of cheating. Now you think…I did something to gain power over you? Claude. It's preposterous! So yes, this time it is your scar again! Now come with me. Maybe we can help you before you have another seizure."

"I'm not going to have a seizure," the man growled, baring pointed teeth. "Last time was different. But this time, you...you started the fire...you wanted me maimed and—and helpless—!" There was definitely something creeping up on him...dizziness...a cold sweat.

He slapped him again. "I. Am. Not. Helpless!"

"You are if you won't let me help you!" I want you back to being yourself, Claude, why would I do this to you?" Sebastian asked; reaching out to Claude again, ignoring the second slap he had receive.

Claude backhanded him. "Shut up, Michaelis!" he demanded coldly and vehemently, stepping forward, right into his personal space. "I think you should leave right now if you kn-know what's best!" He twitched again, the prickling of his scar making him sink down a little.

"I'm not leaving you like this. You'll only brew in your own paranoid mind and get worse!" he said, straightening up. "You'll do something you'll regret."

"I regret not doing this sooner," Claude said, his voice dropping to a whisper. There was a stone idol on the table and in a split second the demon smashed him in the head with it. The initial stunning was followed by a hard kick to the chest, and then he released his claws.

Sebastian didn't have time to react, stumbling back and unable to catch himself in his disoriented state, tripping over a footrest and falling over to the floor, gasping in shock, his hand moving to cradle his bleeding head. "Cim—eries..?"

"Certainly not the man I once considered my rival...look at you...such a pitiful face, a pitiful state..." He pressed his bare foot to Sebastian' throat, cutting off his breathing. "The fight's all gone...The Michaelis I knew wouldn't let himself be kicked around like this..." He pressed his foot in harder.

The crow gasped for breath, reaching up to grip his lover's ankle as he mouthed silent words of pleading, a scared look flashing behind his wide crimson eyes.

Claude sneered at him. "What's the matter with you? You really are so second-rate. Make that third." He moved imperceptibly, grabbing a letter opener off the table and pressing the knife into the pale chest. "Perhaps it is this 'love' nonsense that makes you pitiful. How embarrassing."

He dragged the knife down his centre. "Honestly, I could almost blush with shame to look at you." He twitched again, his hand flying to his scar.

Sebastian flinched visibly and tightened his hold on Claude's ankle, giving it a sharp twist to send the spider falling to the side, allowing him to gasp for breath, "Don't…make me fight you…Claude…" he wheezed.

The demon fell to his knees, but pinned Sebastian as he did so. "You couldn't even. You deserve no right of ownership to that delicious boy and the more-so delicious soul that resides inside him." He crisscrossed the knife down his torso, making cut after cut.

"What does—B-bocchan have to do with this…?" he gasped, reaching up to grab the handle of the knife, pushing it back to try and stop his lover.

"It's just a fact," he said, hitting him about the head with the stone idol again, making his nose bleed. He dragged the knife lower. "...castrating you might be a bit of fun...At least your cock..."

"Ghnn…" Sebastian groaned as he struggled to form words in his stunned state, "N-No, Claude, please stop!" he gasped; now desperately trying to push his lover off of him.

"'Please stop'...how sickening..." He continued to spill more and more of the man's blood, not bothering to lick up the precious substance. However, he had become aware of how badly his tics were occurring, and his 'aura'...the thing that sometimes proceeded seizures, had been well in effect for a while now. Sebastian was right; he was going to have one. He got to his feet shakily.

"Cl—" the crow rolled over, feeling like he was going to be sick. He had just had an attack, and yet, he could feel himself teetering dangerously close to another one. His body shook and he silently pleaded that nothing more would happen.

Seeing Sebastian try to get up, he kicked him in the gut and turned away. He didn't make it out of the room, however, and went sprawling rather unceremoniously to the floor as he entered the seizure.

The kick was all it took, and Sebastian retched right onto the carpet, whimpering as another attack took him, twisting his gut in pain and making him sweat. However, his eyes were glued to his lover, watching him go down, twitching violently. "Cl-aude…" he weakly fought himself, pulling him over towards his lover.

The seizure lasted longer this time, a few minutes, and the spider was oblivious to the demon's illness taking hold. He went into a post-seizure sleep, his heartbeat eventually slowing.

It had been a long time since Sebastian had last had to endure an attack for so long; his body wasn't used to it and he could feel his energy being drained, the pain drawing gasps from his lips until finally, his weakened and abused body could handle no more and he passed out; his illness free to slowly devour his soul.

With both men unconscious on the floor; it was a while until anybody found them. It was the triplets that approached. Lucky for Sebastian, there was leftover potion from when Claude had just recently prepared some, and it was still potent. They administered it to the demon. Claude, however, wouldn't rouse.

An hour passed, and Sebastian groaned, his entire body in pain, and feeling incredibly weak. He could tell how spiritually drained he was, and before he tried opening his eyes; he took the time to wonder just how much of his soul had been taken by his illness, how long he'd have to take to regenerate it all back in hopes that he could before his next attack. His eyes slowly opened and he looked around; finding himself no longer in the lounge, but in a bedroom. "Cl-Claude..?" He groaned out in a dry, pained voice, attempting to roll over to look for the other demon.

Sebastian managed to roll over, only to find himself alone in the room. He sighed and closed his eyes, the past events flooding his mind; His lover had beaten him. Kicked, hit, choked, cut…he had brought him pain until finally his body gave into another attack…he had been on the verge of his death. And for what? Because Claude had, had a paranoid dream that he was trying to hurt him? To overpower him? That accusation hurt more than the previous one of cheating…

Claude had been moved to another room, but attended to no further than that. Unless his life was in danger, his servants would not do such a thing. Consciousness had come back about five minutes before, and he lay in bed, dwelling unhappily, miserably even, on the events that had just come to pass.

Even if they were not servants under a medical demon, the triplets could easily see their master had suffered a seizure. Naturally there was nothing much they could do for him. Sebastian was the one suffering, and so when the doctor came, they directed him to Sebastian first. Claude could sense no one was around him, and he slipped out of bed to go and change. He had to leave.

Claude surveyed himself in the mirror once he was dressed. His scar wasn't prickling any more, but he rubbed it absentmindedly anyway. Then he noticed blood still on his hands...Sebastian's blood. He definitely had to get away before he hurt the man anymore.

Hearing the door, Sebastian turned his head, watching as one of the triplets showed in a demon he had never met before. He frowned. He had hoped it would be Claude…back to normal after the seizure, but it didn't seem to be the case. The triplets always seemed to stay out of sight when he was around, so seeing one of them, and not Claude, made him wonder if Claude was still passed out somewhere.

"…Where's Claude..?" The crow asked, eyeing the doctor as he silently set his bag on the bedside table and opened it, "Is he alright?" his eyes shifted over to the triplet.

The triplet just gestured in the direction of Claude's room while the doctor tended to Sebastian's injuries. Nothing that wouldn't heal quickly enough.

Sebastian nodded painfully, the bruising around his neck causing him to halt the action. "Is he still…passed out?" he asked in a low tone. There was no point in hiding his feelings for the spider. He was still quite naked, and Claude's seal was easily seen on his blood-soaked chest.

The triplet just shrugged.

The doctor said nothing while tending to Sebastian...it was all under Claude's name, or a fake name, anyway, to which the treatment would be paid. He left the demon alone after that.

The crow stayed quiet while he was treated, waiting until the doctor was finished before speaking again, "…If he's awake, can you help me into his room?"

Oh, right, thought the one whose name was Canterbury. That potion caused paralysis. It suddenly occurred to him that this was why Sebastian had been laying around asking questions instead of taking action. Wordlessly he extended his hand to help the man slowly walk to Claude's room.

"…Thank you." Sebastian muttered quietly as he was helped off the bed and down the Hall to the room the Triplets had moved him to, hoping that the spider had awoken.

Sebastian was left to take the last few steps himself. When he entered the room, it appeared empty at first. Then a little spider descended in front of him, wiggling on its strand.

"…Claude?" Sebastian frowned and looked around before focusing on the spider, lifting a finger so it could perch on it, "Where is he?" he asked gently.

It settled on his finger quite comfortably when a chill went down the man's back.

"Malphas," came a coarse voice. "You should leave now."

"Cimeries..?" The crow used the wall as a crutch, moving further into the room, "Where are you? Are you…hurt?"

A pair of golden eyes lit up in the darkness behind him. "...You should leave now. Before you get hurt again."

Sebastian jumped slightly and turned around, leaning against the wall, "You didn't know what you were doing…I won't blame you for it."

"Just go!" said the voice more forcefully, hesitating before the next word. "Please. Michaelis. You need to go."

"I can't help you if I leave." He said, shaking his head, "We can fight this. We can fix you."

The demon stepped forward into the dim light, his hair a mess. He approached him slowly, one hand outreached, and he took Sebastian's bandaged arm lightly. He stared down at him for a moment before getting slowly to his knees before the man. "Malphas," he whispered, his voice thick. "I...need help."

He gripped him tighter.

"I know…" The prince lowered himself to his own knees, taking his lover into his arms, "I'll do anything to help you."

"I'll do anything." Ah, now. This was that emotion again that had not been properly released in centuries. The one where his eyes prickled, then the warm wetness ran down his cheeks. It surprised him a little, but not a lot- he was very upset, after all. Some part of him was, anyway. But he'd always vied heavily against this particular emotion...it was seen as very, very weak.

"Claude…" Sebastian leaned in, pressing a kiss to each trail of tears before placing one on his lips, "I promise we'll fix this. Even…if we don't like the way…if it works, I want you to try it."

The demon turned his head away lightly. "Yes," he said numbly as the tears silently tracked their way down his cheeks, unchecked. "I believe that is wise at this point. I'll fix it. You, however...should leave if you know what's best for you."

"I didn't leave you before, and I'll not do so now. Besides…my body is still numb. I think one of the triplets gave me some of your left-over potion…"

Claude nodded. "They have their instructions," he muttered, feeling his body be silently wracked a few times by what he vaguely recalled was sobbing. It was tempting, certainly, to just go along with it and cry. Of course...he was in the presence of a prince. They could probably kill him for it. "...You'll stay, then, Michaelis?" he said flatly.

"With you, for you." He nodded, holding him close, "I'll stay." Combing his fingers through his lover's hair, he sighed, "I don't even know how long we were unconscious…and I don't care. I'm staying."

The man shivered, moving closer to Sebastian and gritting his teeth as the urge hit him again. A soft sound escaped, and he closed his eyes and swallowed it all back. He wiped his eyes and reached forward, wrapping his arms around him, "…I apologize," he muttered.

"Shh…it's okay…I'll heal…you can let go. I won't tell anyone." He promised. "Then, later we'll go see about getting you that help."

The demon nodded. "I didn't...mean any of that..." he muttered. "...Those things I said." He got to his feet slowly, then walked over and sat down on his bed. "About our markings, about you, about the ship." He sipped from a glass of water.

"I know…" using the wall to pull himself up, he stumbled over and let himself collapse on the bed, resting his head in the other's lap, "As hurtful as those words were, it wasn't you saying them."

Claude was faintly surprised, numb though he currently felt, that Sebastian would approach him so easily. He raised his thigh, shifting Sebastian up, and he offered the glass of water to him. "Here...drink up..."

Sebastian looked up at him and drank a few healthy mouthfuls of the offered water, "I was worried about you…I'm gad to see you are more-or-less back to normal right now."

Claude nodded. "Yes, more or less," he replied in a soft tone. He sniffed a little, putting the water down and letting Sebastian lay comfortably in his lap. He rested a hand against his bloodied head and lightly stroked his hair. He tried to be more affectionate than usual so Sebastian would know he was truly sorry.

"…Should…I bathe before we leave?" Sebastian asked after a long moment. He knew he probably looked as bad as he felt…maybe even worse. But he could feel the drying blood caked in his hair as Claude stroked it. He had been hesitant to ask, not wanting to make his lover regret his actions more.

Claude seemed undeterred. "I would not mind doing so, myself. Do you wish to use the shower? It will be faster."

Sebastian considered it for a moment and nodded, "I had forgotten you have a shower. Bocchan only has tubs in his manor."

Claude gave an odd little chuckle under his breath at the thought of that boy. "Too bad only the wealthy have them at this time. It's so much more hygienic." He picked Sebastian up and began carrying him to the bathroom.

Sebastian blushed, "…I keep the tubs perfectly clean. And soaking in the tub once in a while is very relaxing."

"I mean to say, it is more effective for cleaning." There was a stool to sit on in the shower, so Sebastian used that. The raven was already naked, so Claude stripped out of his fresh attire to join him.

Sebastian turned on the water, sitting under its flow as it warmed up and washed the blood from his body, red clouds swirling down the drain. Finally, he reached for the bar of soap and began to wash himself.

Claude remained quiet as he washed himself thoroughly. "I...would actually like to...not go...today..." he murmured after a long silence.

"…Then when? Claude…this time was worse than last time…if it keeps getting worse then…" he shook his head, "The sooner you get help, the better."

The demon turned away a little, looking back at him. "Last time, I was okay for a while." He rested his black-tipped fingers against the steamy glass. "One seizure a day is one too many. Give me time."

Sebastian sighed, "Tomorrow then." He nodded, turning on his stool to look up at Claude, running his fingers along his leg.

Claude gave a stiff nod. "That's what he's going to do; of course...I knew all along there wasn't some alternate treatment. And I left it too late. But there isn't another choice, now.

"He says it's the best option." The crow nodded, "If it's what can help you…I won't continue to fight him about it."

Again, Claude nodded. "...Yes. I will do it. But not today. Today I feel...compromised. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. You should not even look at me today."

"Well, I'm stubborn and you'll have to live with me staying and looking at you. You aren't weak. This doesn't make you weak."

Claude turned and rested his hand atop Sebastian's head. "It does. It is a weakness. And I cried, too." He frowned at the thought of himself.

"..Am I weak in your eyes? I…have cried openly in front of you…and my illness…" he said in a low tone, setting down the soap and letting the water rinse him as he looked up at the spider.

"What can I say? It's a double standard. I'm being hypocritical," he replied, brushing the wet hair off his forehead and gathering Sebastian into his arms.

"Yes, you are. Because you are strong. You aren't being fair to yourself." Sebastian wrapped his arms around him and hugged him close, "I rely on you for so much…and you are always there for me. Weather its tears or an attack."

"Well, I'm done with that business for now. I'm going to go and dress as a dignified gentleman should dress, and so shall you. We are not weak. Let us not pretend that we are." He turned the shower off. "Just a little damaged, is all. But we're demons...we always heal."

"We are, and we do." He nodded, flashing a charming smile to the other as they stepped out of the tub and grabbed towels to dry themselves.

A little smirk flickered over Claude's face as he wrapped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom. "Let's see...I have several suits tailored to your size lying around. Incase you, hypothetically, required a change of attire."

"More-so than I have had to in the past?" Sebastian chuckled, fluffing his hair dry with the towel and letting the damp cloth rest over his shoulders as he followed Claude, the numbness having mostly left his body during the shower.

"Better safe than sorry. I wouldn't want to have to send you back to your masters in any sort of unseemly state." He turned around to the naked man, draping a hand over his shoulder.

"And your enjoyment of tailoring and sewing has nothing to do with it?" the crow teased, running his fingers along Claude's arm, "But I appreciate the thought. As I'm sure the young master would as well; if he ever found out."

Claude smirked. "Truth be told, I could sit around all day designing outfits for you. Your figure is...well suited for everything. I'd love to see you decked out in leather, hn…"

"Well, I'll try on anything you wish me to." The crow butler blushed, "Even…if it's a female garment, I suppose. As you believe I have the figure to pull off such things."

Claude did not believe he had the right to, currently, but he took Sebastian and gently lowered him against the silken bed. "...well, the nightdress was a complete success, of course," he smirked. "Of course I prefer you in male attire...suits you better. Makes you look more proud, more dignified..."

"I find it more comfortable, at least." Sebastian smiled, running his fingers along Claude's neck and jaw, "Though, I must admit, female attire does create easier access in some situations…"

"The patterns I can make are incredibly complex, you know...to create them, I must be able to get my hands in some sticky places. Getting into your pants is no difficult feat," he teased, adjusting his glasses, then running a hand down his slightly injured body. "And when you're not wearing anything...even better." His fingers slid through the jet black curls coating his groin.

"Getting into my pants would be difficult if I were to deny you access." The demon said, leaning up to kiss along his collarbone and over his shoulders, "Though I have to grant you, when I'm naked I am at quite the disadvantage in such a situation should I ever be unwilling." His fingers trailed down, tugging loose the towel at Claude's hips.

"Should you ever," Claude echoed. "But I don't think you want to deny me access, Malphas." He parted his legs over Sebastian, lowering himself down to let the demon access his clavicle and shoulders more easily. As his violet pubes and firm endowment were revealed, he pressed his hips to the man.

"No, I don't think I'd be unwilling." He smirked, his fingers caressing over Claude's hipbone and dipping down into the tangle of curls, "I act on much more than just lust when we are together. I do not think I can ever deny you access to my body." He bit down and sucked on Claude's tender flesh stretched over his collarbone, leaving behind a small, but dark mark bruised deep into his skin.

"Nor, do I think, could I deny you access to mine." He shivered as Sebastian's soft mouth nipped over his collarbone, slowly rubbing his body up against the man. "You're very skilled in that regard."

"You have denied me before..." he said in a soft voice, moving his lips along up to the larger demon's ear, "Though, that was before our first time joining bodies." He shifted under him, letting off a seductive moan into his lover's ear as his hips brushed against the other's.

"Yes...but you know my reasoning. Now we can enjoy ourselves to the extent that demons should be able to, with the added bonus of, ah...having deep sentiment for one another." His hand ran up to the mark on his chest, and he rolled against him once more.

"Yes…" Sebastian hummed and parted one leg from the other, sliding his bare foot up along Claude's leg before hooking his knee on Claude's hip to pull him tighter against his form, "And I can honestly say, having intercourse with you, with these deeper feelings…is the best I have ever experienced."

"That is true enough," Claude agreed. "And I'm assuming my princely partner wishes to indulge in that presently?" he asked, raising an eyebrow coquettishly. He switched places with Sebastian, letting the man sit on top of him while he took a firm grip of his backside.

"I won't deny it." He smirked down at him, "But I think you were thinking along the same line. After all, one can not dress himself when laying in bed with his conveniently exposed lover."

"Now, now, who undressed who~?" asked the ex-butler, his hand sliding along the inside of his cheeks. "If you'll permit me I won't dance around the situation much further." His pressed his fingers up against him while the other hand spidered along his pectorals.

"I simply robbed you of your towel." He grinned, "You de-clothed yourself." He slipped his other leg out, hooking it around Claude's hips to mirror his other leg.

Claude rubbed his fingers against him more firmly. "Mmm...I suppose you don't have a lot of blood for me to drink today," he murmured. "What a waste, that I should spill it over the carpets like that..."

Sebastian pressed against his lover's fingers, "Mmm…Shame, really. I do much prefer you to coax it out with your lips and tongue. I'm just grateful you didn't castrate me. Next to that threat, spilling my blood is nothing." He craned his neck and ran his tongue along Claude's jaw line. "Perhaps…this time I could take your blood."

"God forbid I do that," he murmured. "Though it would heal.." He groaned and smiled a little at Sebastian's offer. "Oh, please... Take as much as you wish... Consider it reparation. You may take whatever you want from my body."

"'as much' as I wish, hmm? Now you tempt me to get greedy. It won't do to take too much from you." His teeth scraped over the skin of Claude's neck, his fangs lengthening and cutting into the soft flesh before biting down and sinking them deep, allowing blood to pool into his mouth. "Mmmmn…" Sebastian shifted and rolled his hips against his lover's.

Claude shuddered and moaned as he felt himself begin to bleed. "Drink me dry if it pleases you. Exsanguinate me," he whispered. He pressed Sebastian's lower body against his own and rubbed deeply against him.

Sebastian acknowledged the offer with a lustful hum as his tongue lapped up the blood. His eyes glistening magenta as the taste of his lover brought him to full hardness. His hands roaming over Claude's chest and sides.

Claude's instinct was to err on the side of submission. "Nnh..." One clawed hand scratched at his shoulders and he gave a desperate moan...feeling Sebastian drink his life essence was almost transcendental. He lay against the bed, arching his back and his hips towards him more. He almost wanted to be dominated, for once... Almost.

As the blood flow slowed, Sebastian shifted again, licking up the remaining red liquid as he reached down, rubbing Claude's length to make sure it was to size before positioning it at his own entrance; pulling Claude into a sitting position as he lowered himself onto his member with a moan, his blood-soaked lips feathering over his lover's shoulder before biting down and creating another steady flow of the sweet nectar.

Claude realized Sebastian intended to ride him, and he sat up in a good position to enter his partner. A deep moan escaped as Sebastian bit him again, and he buried his head in the man's shoulder as he began to rock underneath him.

Sebastian slid his arms around Claude, holding him tight as he continued to nip and coax the blood from his veins. He smirked, letting his tail and horns release, his thin black tail snaking around their bodies as it grew longer, its end dipping down into Claude's cleft and rubbing against his entrance, hardly waiting for Claude to respond before it pressed inside.

The man went stiff against him, crying out a little at the foreign object forcing itself inside him. His teeth grazed the demon's chest and his hands pressed Sebastian down onto his arousal forcefully. "Tch...n-ngh...Mi..Michaelis.."

Sebastian nipped down harder on the other's shoulder as he was suddenly shoved down further, "Ghn! P-problem, Faustus?" he gasped, all movement freezing as he waited to adjust, though his tail twisted slightly deeper.

"Congratulations...nobody's ever done _that_...to me before," he muttered, taking Sebastian's hips and rubbing his length all up inside the tight walls. He leaned forward and bit lightly at his nipple, suckling it gently.

"Really?" The crow breathed, closing his eyes as he savored the feel of his lover inside him, "Your face seemed to almost beg for it…" he licked his lips, cleaning the blood from them as he began to move himself up along Claude's shaft and back down, his tail sliding out before going back in and diving deeper, curling and stretching Claude's walls.

"Oh, did I show that expression?" he wondered aloud. "Maybe I don't mind it, if its you...you're not used to submitting, but I assure you I am…ngh...e-even less so..." He moved Sebastian over him back and forth, to and fro over his cock, pleasuring them both. The tail inside him was oddly pleasurable.

"Auhh…" Sebastian tightened and released his inner walls around Claude as he was moved, "You're…ngh…not fighting it…" he moaned, returning to nibble along his neck and jaw before taking his lips in a heated his, his tail's movements speeding up.

"No...n-no, I'm not...it's good...It's you, so..." His movements grew faster and he thrust himself into the man. He began panting, keeping his head pressed to Sebastian's chest. "Use my body to pleasure yourself, Malphas...my prince…"

"I thought…ahh…you didn't see me by my status…" he gasped, heat raising to his cheeks as he opened his eyes slightly, looking at him from beneath his thick black lashes. Groaning pleasurably, he cupped Claude's cheeks and tilted his head up to face him as he road his lover's member, his tail never breaking it's steady pattern of movement. "Though…when you call me that when we are like this…" he moaned loudly, there was no denying that, for once, his title sent a thrill through him.

"That's why now, and only now...will I ever make particular mention of it..." He looked up at him with hungry, lustful eyes. "You get a thrill off of it~" His eyes flashed and he pushed Sebastian down onto his length, harder and faster, his nails digging into his hips.

"Y-Yes, only…ghahh, like this…from you…" he whimpered, his head falling back. Slowly, his tail began to curl in around itself, making itself thicker as it thrust in and out of Claude's entrance, a slight tremor of pleasure quaking down his body and through his tail.

Claude felt the tail moving around inside him and it kept giving him odd shivers. He found Sebastian's sweet spot and began to push down on it hard, again and again. One hand left the smaller demon's hips to rake down his back, along his spine. His teeth sharpened a little, again came the urge to transform, but he managed to hold it back.

Heat pooled in Sebastian's gut, his climax building up and threatening to burst as cries were forced from his lips each time his sweet spot was struck. "D-on't hold back! I'm cl-close…don't hold back, Cimeries!" he gasped, his fingers lengthening into claws as he entangled them in Claude's hair.

"You sound the best when you're pleading," the man grunted, panting in time with each thrust on the sweet spot. "So good, Malphas, a- _aahh_..!" He too was close, receiving excessive pleasure by the black tail violating his body so excellently. "Aahshi...Ah!"

"Ahh! Pl-please!" he reached down, grabbing his own length and stroking it, "I—GHH!" his back arched as he was pushed over into pure pleasure, evidence of his climax shooting out and coating his hand and abs. "Claude!"

The spider demon always liked when Sebastian gasped his name. Even the mere sound of it was arousing, and it was certainly enough to drive him over the edge to hit his orgasm. He withdrew from Sebastian and grabbed hold of himself at the last moment, and the substance shot back over his chest. He closed his eyes, groaning deeply as he released, then lightly rested his head against Sebastian's shoulders. "Ah..."

Sebastian slipped his tail out and hugged Claude, leaning over to let them fall onto their sides, humming softly as he nuzzled against him.

Claude separated himself from Sebastian and tossed a silk sheet over their pale, muscular bodies. "Hmm..." He petted the demon's hair contentedly.

The smaller demon's lips twitched into a small, content smile as he looked at the spider demon, "Mind if we relax until morning?"

"That sounds adequate," Claude remarked. "Personally I feel a great deal more relaxed now." He held the man against his chest with a smirk.

"I, as well…I think we needed to release some stress…the both of us." He slipped his arms around Claude's waist, "I feel ready to deal with whatever tomorrow may bring."

"You can talk. You're not the one who has to be electrocuted until he has a fit," said Claude unhappily.

"…You might not have a fit…it could heal you before that…" he whispered, "And if not…and you get stressed out over it…You can take it out on me."

"I don't think you understand that inducing seizures is a necessary part of the treatment," he explained. "But the point of it all is that I...that I don't take things out on you again. Not the way I have been."

"…Well, I'm in no way a medical demon. So I didn't know…" he frowned, "But if it can make you better…And my offer still stands. I'll be here for you when you need me."

"Hmm. How sentimental you are, Michaelis. Appreciated, nonetheless." He kissed his chest. "Ah...and…I apologize for triggering an attack, today. That was reckless."

"..It wasn't you." He shook his head, "You weren't in your own right state of mind. I can't blame you…And luckily, there was some left over elixir that hadn't gone bad yet…"

"I don't want to cause any more pain than you will suffer by being with me," he replied, settling down against the pillows. "Anyway...enough of that sort of talk."

"Mm, quite." He smiled and adjusted himself comfortably on the pillow, "Would you like me to make you something for breakfast tomorrow?"

Claude stretched out his athletic body, still holding Sebastian against him almost protectively. "Surprise me." he smirked.

"Oh, I could do that easily." He smirked, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "But for now, rest sounds fantastic."

"Oh, excellent. I like it when you join me in slumber," replied Claude, moving a lock of violet hair out of his face. He pressed Sebastian's smaller body up against him, breathing in his scent. "Hm, though it would be equally pleasurable to just watch you sleep all night."

"Do what you wish." The demon chuckled, Either way, we are sharing a bed, which sadly does not happen nearly enough at the current time." He nuzzled his cheek against Claude's shoulder as he got comfortable.

"You know...I've actually been thinking," said Claude. "...And I find myself rather firm in the belief that you will not be leaving me. Which leads me to wish you could just…snatch up your master's soul already...and stay with me all the time..."

"If only I could find who is the one responsible for his treatment after his parents' deaths, I could…so far it's only been men who have had a small part in it." He muttered against his skin.

"But you'll stay?" asked the demon, raising golden eyes to ruby, and leaning forward to lick his skin with his tongue, his sensitive tongue where his sense of taste was heightened. "After all that?" He lightly caressed his backside.

"Of course I'll stay…I love you, Claude." The crow said, cupping the larger demon's cheek, "I'll stay with you until I die, and if you cure me…I'll stay until the end of time."

Claude hooked his fingers on the underside of one cheek and rolled Sebastian on top of him. "You will, Sebastian. Whether or not you are a Believer...Have faith in _me_. Because I'm not letting you go, do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly." The butler smiled, "I believe in you. And have faith in me that I won't let you go, either." His fingers trailed over his seal left on the spider's chest.

Claude repeated the motion to the seal on the crow's. He began to feel drowsy quite quickly as he gently caressed his lover, and his eyes began to slide shut.

Sebastian gave a content sigh and lay against his lover, pressing a kiss to his neck as his own eyes began to close.

* * *

To be continued...


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Sebastian got up early and snuck down to the kitchen, spending an hour preparing a small breakfast for his lover before setting it on a trey, carrying it back up to the room and setting it on the side table. He then slipped back into bed and pressed up against him, nibbling gently along the ridge of his ear. The motion roused Claude from sleep and a pleasurable shudder ran through his body. "Mmnn..." A little smile spread across his lips. He'd slept deep and contentedly that night, feeling well rested.

"Good morning." The crow's gentle voice purred into his ear, "Sleep well?" he continued to nip at his ear.

Claude's eyes opened and he reached for Sebastian's hand, casually sliding it under the blankets to his groin. "You tell me, Mr. Michaelis."

"My, I hope that's my fault." He chuckled, running his fingertips along the spider's morning wood, "Though we may have to take care of it before we leave."

"One might think you're just a little bit eager to get in my pants," the spider teased lightly, shifting up into a sitting position. "Of course...one would not have any complaints, either..."

"Well, it is easy when you aren't even wearing your pants." He chuckled, kissing along his neck, "Hmm, I've also made you some breakfast."

Claude cast his eyes over to the tray. "And what lovely meal have I had the pleasure to be graced with today?" he asked, reaching for his glasses and not bothering to move his hair out of his face.

Sebastian leaned forward, pressing up against his lover's back as he pulled the tray onto the bed and removed the lid, "This morning I made golden egg with ham crepes with a side of cinnamon briskets and a nice Irish Breakfast tea." The meal was laid out expertly, with two cups of tea awaiting to be enjoyed by the demons.

Claude eyed it. "...My, my...I hope you did not go to too much trouble." He reached for his fork. "But I see no flaws. Top-quality work."

The corners of Sebastian's lips twitched upwards and he sat up, taking his own tea and sipping it, "Hardly. I enjoy cooking. Especially when I have someone who appreciates it and can enjoy the flavors. However, I do prefer your tea over mine."

"I'll be glad to make you lots and lots of it~" he mused as he began to eat. He was keener to tease than to have to think about the upcoming events of the day. He might as well enjoy the good moments while they lasted.

"I look forward to it." Sebastian smiled, sipping more tea and leaning against the other's shoulder, "As well as spending more time with you."

Claude was silent for a moment. He often thought of sweet things to say Sebastian, but held himself back a bit of the time because being so affectionate didn't seem within his personality. But in the end he decided to speak. "...And I with you. After all...you're much more than a simple lover. You have become my closest friend, too."

Sebastian's smile widened, his gaze softening as he watched his lover, waiting for his fork to be lowered before leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips, tasting the crapes as he did so.

"Do you think I'll come out alright?" Claude murmured, closing his eyes as Sebastian's warm lips pressed against his own. "Do you think I will get better?"

"…I do…" he whispered, "I truly do. You are strong, and if anyone can, it's you." He kissed him a few more times before pulling back, rubbing his thumb across Claude's cheek.

"Of course I can," he replied immediately. "I won't succumb, Sebastian. I can't be weak, you know." There was a faint light in his eyes that was determination. "'n you know...I'll come home tonight, and I'll show you just how strong I am," he purred.

"And I'll be waiting. Even if I can't be in there with you, I'll be waiting for you to come out from your treatment." The crow demon glanced up at the clock and then back at Claude, "I'll go find us something to wear." He slipped out of bed again and walked over to look through the wardrobe.

Claude ate breakfast, shamelessly watching his bare lover going to find them clothes. "It's a date then," he murmured. "At least I have that to look forward to, yes? I have to reaffirm my dignity, you see."

"Of course, and quite understood." Sebastian nodded, folding a pair of pants and a shirt over the crook of his arm as he gathered articles of clothing that would look good together. "I won't let your pride fall victim to this."

"Neither shall I," Claude said dryly. Once he'd finished, he took the clothes Sebastian had put together for him and took himself into the washroom. He intended to relieve himself nice and early in hopes to avoid that nasty little side-effect of seizures known as incontinence. He returned refreshed and well-dressed, and overall quite calm at this point about the upcoming shock therapy.

While Claude was in the washroom, Sebastian found himself one of the many outfits in his size Claude had made, and slipped into it, taking a moment to admire the spider's skill in sewing and design. He smiled and turned from the full-length mirror when Claude rejoined him, "Are you ready?"

The taller demon gave him a once over, smirking faintly. "My, now that does fit nicely, doesn't it..." His fingers slid over the man's taut backside and his eyes flashed. "...yes. I do suppose I'm ready, now. We may depart, if you know where you're going."

"Of course. He's told me where he was staying while here in England." Sebastian nodded, flashing him a smile and offering him his arm, "With any luck, he can cure you before he leaves the country."

"Then take me," Claude replied, taking hold of the man's arm keenly. "And let's just get this stupid thing over with, shall we?"

The smaller demon nodded with an encouraging smile and lead Claude out of the mansion. Having them travel by foot, which was faster, to where the Doctor had said he would be staying. He approached the door and knocked on it firmly, hoping the man would be in, rather than out doing something.

The door swung open of its own volition, clearly inviting the two of them into the dwelling. The doctor, swathed in robes as usual, sat at a shrine of some description. Claude stared at him silently, and the doctor didn't say anything for several minutes, probably immersed in some form of meditation.

"Welcome," he said eventually.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you if you were busy during this time." Sebastian greeted with a nod. "I had forgotten your meditation rituals sometimes start in the early morning."

"We had an appointment," the man replied calmly. He finally turned to look at them, brushing hair out of his face and getting to his feet rather elegantly.

Claude just stared.

"Mr...Faustus. You have been...very useful to...dear Mr. Michaelis the last few months, have you not?"

The spider demon nodded. "That is the case."

Sebastian glanced at Claude, barely able to hold back a blush from staining his cheeks. Claude had been, in fact, more than simply 'useful' to him. He had been his reason for not simply giving up and letting his illness take him into the afterlife. His reason for not soiling his pride further by drinking the blood of insignificant humans just to keep his attacks at bay. "He's agreed…to the treatment you have recommended for his condition."

"Yes," said the doctor, eyeing the marks on Sebastian's face and neck. "...I could foresee it would come to this...one way or another. Mr. Faustus," he said as he approached, "you are of great assistance to Prince Malphas. Therefore, I _am_ obliged to help you with your little...problem."

Sebastian adverted his eyes under the demon doctor's gaze, fighting the urge to rub his neck. He had forgotten to take the time to cover his bruises with makeup before they left. The thought really hadn't even occurred to him. And now he felt self-conscious about it. After the night they had spent together, and their pleasant morning, all his thoughts as to why Claude had agreed to the treatment had escaped his mind. True, his body was quite a bit sorer than usual, but he hadn't thought on it.

Claude didn't look happy about it at all, but he nodded. "Appreciated. If we could just get this over with," he asked hopefully.

"My, and I'd thought as one medical demon to another we could sit awhile and have tea," responded the doctor.

"Every minute I draw closer to losing the plot again at...the prince. Priorities, my good sir."

The doctor found this acceptable and gestured down a flight of stairs, to a basement.

Sebastian's gaze moved to the stairway and then back at the doctor, "Am I permitted to stay?" he asked in as professional a tone he could manage.

"It would be wise if you remained up here," replied the doctor. "After all, it isn't pretty."

Flickers of fear went through the spider demon but not for one second did he let it show on his face.

"It will be alright, Michaelis," he added, his gaze softening just a little for the demon.

Sebastian nodded, "I'll wait up here then." He looked over at Claude, a small look of unease in his eye, "About how long will this take?"

Claude wanted to take Sebastian's hand and reassure him, but he supposed it wouldn't do well for the doctor to know of their relationship.

"...That depends. Half an hour, perhaps?"

Claude tch'ed irritably and nodded.

Sebastian nodded, "Very well…That's not so bad." He lied. The idea of waiting a half hour or more to make sure Claude was fine was too much. But he didn't have any say in it. He turned, flashing Claude the best supportive smile he could manage as he walked over to take a seat.

Claude was escorted down the steps by the doctor, his heart beating rather quickly in his chest. He was guided to a dark room. The doctor came in and turned a surgical light on, and Claude was told to sit down in a chair.

"Each shock will last up until it causes a seizure," the Oriental man explained. "Please remove your coat and any metallic ornaments on your body.

Nothing discomforted the demon more than having his head strapped down and electrodes attached, as well as his limbs being restrained. At least, that's what he had thought until the shocks started.

"Just keep your body relaxed," murmured the doctor, but it hurt Claude a lot. The demon grit his teeth as electricity surged through his head, almost straight to his scar. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't break. No. No! It happened after about thirty seconds when he blacked out and began to seize violently.

Sebastian watched the time tick by with tested patients, his fingers tapping his knee in a nervous, impatient tick, trying hard, yet failing at keeping his thoughts away from what was happening to his lover only a few feet below him. Waiting was becoming too much. Sebastian stood up, unable to keep still, and began to pace the length of the room. He had never understood why humans would do such things when their friends and families were in hospitals for whatever reason, but now he understood all too well. It was better than doing nothing, knowing that he couldn't help, knowing he couldn't be in the room with Claude…it helped ease the anxiety.

The seizer was different, though. Claude didn't go into a post-seizure sleep like usual. He slowly roused after it ended, panting, sweating. The doctor was writing a few things down.

"Is that all? C-can I go?" he asked, trembling with aftershocks.

"Oh, we've barely even gotten started!" Jinzhou gave him a few minutes to collect himself before flipping the switch and starting the shocks up again. It was torture. Absolute torture.

The screams started up on the fourth round.

Sebastian froze when the silence, that had only been broken thus-far by the ticking of the clock and the tapping of his shoes, was disrupted by a scream that was unmistakably Claude's. The crow grimaced, squeezing his eyes and covering his ears trying to block it out. Waiting for Claude was proving to grow more difficult. And he couldn't decide if he was in the better or worse position with waiting. Surely, this was better than watching Claude in pain…but, not being able to be down there with him, to tell him it'll be okay…

Normally, he had no problem with hearing people's pain, with watching it…but Claude wasn't just anyone…he was his lover.

His greatest weakness

His greatest strength.

He could see why emotions such as love was seen as such a dishonorable weakness to have for demons…it was excruciating in times such as this. And he knew now, without a doubt, that he would sacrifice everything and anything to keep Claude safe. And yet, he wouldn't dare give up this weakness if he had the chance. Claude gave him strength to continue on. He'd be dead without him, even if he didn't have Fames hanging over his head, constantly trying to drag him into death.

"No more," the spider demon practically pleaded after nearly the tenth round. "No more. Stop it." Every nerve in his body was on fire, and he felt numb all over. He was covered in sweat, and was almost becoming detached from reality.

He half thought that he was in a torture device designed to fry his brain or something. He was panicking, he was _scared_.

"Just a few more times," the doctor said, "and that might do for today."

This didn't sit well with Claude at all. " _NO_!" he growled, a black aura erupting over his body. The doctor watched on calmly as Claude basically ripped himself from his bindings and staggered a few steps away. His weak legs, however, left him sinking to the floor. He held a hand out defensively. " _No more_ ," he hissed in the demon tongue.

The doctor sighed. "Very will," he said simply. "Calm down. We shall do no more, for now."

Claude leaned against a cupboard, panting. He felt a yearning need for Sebastian, despite what a pitiful state he was in. He sat there for a minute, trying to gather himself. The doctor scribbled things on his board for a little bit, then glanced over at him. "I think this will have just about fixed the problem, but you'll be required to come back for subsequent, follow-up sessions periodically for the next few months. Just to make sure." He handed Claude a glass of water, and Claude took it into shaking hands, sipping weakly. For the few minutes he'd sat there on the floor, the spiders inhabiting the basement had all crawled over to make his acquaintance. They were quite comforting.

The doctor left to inform Sebastian. Seeing the doctor leave, Claude realized he'd gone to tell Sebastian. The demon might even come down, so Claude made a good attempt to make himself look respectable. He heaved himself back to his feet, brushing his hair back off his forehead and adjusting his glasses, at least trying to have his dress shirt buttoned just in case. He felt dizzy, and rather nauseous, so he took it easy and sipped at his water some more. He hadn't come out of it too bad at all, actually.

The screaming had stopped, finally, after what felt like hours. Sebastian uncovered his ears, taking a shaky breath and tried to calm himself. "He's fine…" he reassured himself for the hundredth time since the screams had first drifted up the stairs, "He's fine. He's strong…he can handle it."

Sighing, Sebastian sat back down in the chair he had temporarily occupied before, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. Claude's screaming hadn't started back up, so either, they were finished…or Claude had passed out after a seizure.

The doctor appeared and just gave Sebastian a nod, before settling back down at his shrine. Claude obviously didn't want to be touched, so he could help himself up the stairs.

Sebastian looked up at the doctor and watched him walk back over to his shrine before he stood up, and tried to walk calmly to the stairs. Claude hadn't come up with him; so he had probably been left down below, undoubtedly weakened after such treatment. He walked halfway down the stairs before he could control himself no longer, and rushed down, looking around the dark basement room for his lover.

Claude heard Sebastian coming quickly down the steps. "Mi-cha-" His voice was hoarse from screaming. "...Michaelis..." There was a sudden rush of longing inside him and he yearned to run to him, but he restrained himself.

"Claude…" Sebastian hurried over to him once he spotted the man, with some help from his weakened voice. He wrapped his arms protectively around his lover, holding him for a moment before speaking again, pressing his hand to the spider's cheek, "…Are you alright?"

Claude looked surprised at the rush of affection, and he stared down at him for a brief second with slightly widened eyes. Then he pushed him back against his chest and squeezed him tightly, breathing as evenly as he could. "I...I think so," he whispered into his ear.

"Good…I was worried…and you were screaming…and…" he blushed, realizing how pathetic he must sound, "…It was difficult for me up there, I can't imagine how it was for you down here actually living all that."

"I've had worse," the demon muttered, stepping back and rubbing his throbbing head. At least, he felt nothing but affection for his blue-blooded partner. Nothing paranoid or murderous.

"He says I should be okay now, and that is certainly worth the suffering."

"He did? He hadn't said anything to me." Sebastian mused, "I'm glad." He gave a brighter smile to the demon, "Shall we get you back home and out of this dark basement?"

"Home," Claude murmured, swaying lightly. "Yes. I should very much like to return home." He examined his wrists, red from the bindings, a little bloody from where he'd ripped himself free.

Sebastian looked down at his wrists and took hold of one, bringing it to his lips and slowly running his tongue along it before giving the other the same treatment. "Then lets go." He looked up at him with a smile, "Do you need help upstairs, or can you handle it?"

Claude shivered lightly. He made a point of adjusting his golden frames elegantly. "I can take myself up just fine," he said, and he would do it by himself, no matter what. He took to the staircase and began ascending, holding the rail as support for his shaky legs.

Sebastian nodded and followed him, taking the stairs a few steps behind him in case his legs gave out. He knew Claude was doing it for his pride, but that didn't change the fact that he had just had electrical currents moving through his brain, forcing him into seizers.

Claude almost gave in and asked to sit down once he reached the top of the staircase. After all, being so stubborn and then fainting, or worse, vomiting, on the floor afterwards would make the shame that much worse. But it wasn't quite that bad and he was okay to continue.

"Ah, doctor," he murmured as he spotted him. "Your assistance has been appreciated. I will see you in a month for the follow-ups."

The doctor didn't answer, back in his meditation.

The crow raised an eyebrow, of course there would be follow-up treatments. Why had he thought other-wise? Suppressing a sigh, he gave his thanks to the doctor and walked to the door to let them out, "If you need a break, I could call for a cab." He said once they were outside.

Claude wasn't keen to test his luck. "...I...wouldn't mind if we...went out for a bit. Maybe to a cafe, or…a park, even..." He recalled the way he'd snidely rebutted Sebastian's suggestions for a date while under the cruel influence of his complexes. If he was indeed better, it was time to start fixing his mistakes.

Nodding, the smaller demon offered his arm once more, "There is a park about a block away if I remember correctly."

Claude took his arm and said nothing as they walked slowly through the streets leading to the park. He passed a shop that sold various food items overcooked in grease, and he stopped by it. "...I think I'll get something in here, Sebastian. You may wait out here if you wish." He was inexplicably quite hungry. As if being electrocuted had zapped away his full stomach.

The crow nodded, having no desire to enter the shop. Foods cooked in such a way sometimes churned his stomach, and he did not wish to make himself feel sick and risk another early attack by stepping into a shop that smelled of nothing but that. "I'll wait here."

The demon wandered in, and when the door closed behind him, he strolled up to the counter and quite casually asked for their restroom. He really did end up losing his stomach after that, and when he exited, white-faced and peaky, he purchased a sweet cordial drink to keep him hydrated and promptly left.

Sebastian was leaning against the lamp post directly outside the shop, waiting for Claude, seeing him come back out, he pushed himself away from the pole with his shoulder and walked over to him, "I thought you were hungry." He noted, seeing the man carrying only a drink.

Claude gave him a little smirk. "I never said that, dear Sebastian." In actuality now that that was over with he felt a lot better, even though he'd lost his appetite. They looped arms. Sebastian was not in his customary butler attire and therefore not as recognizable as the Servant of Phantomhive, so Claude was even less concerned than usual about being seen with him in public in a manner that suggested they were more than friends.

"…Touché." The butler chuckled, lightly leaning against his lover, ignoring the looks of disgust and shock some of the members of the crowd around them shot at them. They didn't matter. Only Claude did. "You do seem a little pale, though."

Claude had only a cocky smirk for those close-minded passer-byers as they strolled leisurely into the park. "I'm feeling fairly better now, actually," he stated, taking in a deep breath of the human world's clean, spring-scented air. In fact, he almost felt a little human like this. It was a foreign feeling indeed. Not pleasant, but not all that uncomfortable either. He felt rather content, actually.

"That's good." Sebastian smiled as they turned into the park, leading Claude down a path that was less used, and therefore, less crowded. Wildlife was easier to spot, as well, birds in the trees and small rodents running around and collecting seeds and nuts. He didn't bat an eye when a lone crow flew down and perched on his shoulder as they walked, simply reaching up with his free hand to brush his gloved fingers along a wing.

Claude Faustus was always very amiable with animals. He smiled a little when he saw the raven, removing his glove so he could stroke the glossy feathers of the animal. He whistled lightly to it.

The bird cawed and nipped lightly at the spider's finger in greeting, ruffling it's feathers as it settled comfortably on Sebastian's shoulder, seemingly enjoying the company of the two demons.

Sebastian chuckled and looked out the corner of his eye at Claude, "This is nice…spending time with you."

Claude sat down at a bench beneath a lovely large tree. "It is," he agreed, and after sitting there for only a brief time two squirrels approached. The demon wished he had bought a snack for them. A couple of colorful finches also found interest in settling around Claude, and he kept one on his finger, sipping his drink with the other hand. "This planet...the natural world...it is certainly a masterpiece, Sebastian," he said contentedly to him.

Sebastian nodded, slowly sitting down next to him, as to not spook the small animals that had gathered around Claude, "You are good with animals." He observed out loud, his tone holding a hint of awe. He only seemed good with certain animals, cats, ravens, and lately, because of Claude, spiders. And dogs as well, though he held no fondness for the clingy, needy animal. They reminded him of humans he's contracted with, always needing something—attention, food, activities... And yet, they also reminded him of himself. A loyal servant who'll take any order. Sit, play dead, fetch…it was sickening. And what's worse, dogs wanted to be told what to do, and then be praised for it. Sebastian only wanted freedom. He wanted to only make contracts when he needed to, at a rate that most demons had. His illness kept him chained like a dog nearly his whole immortal existence. He longed for the opportunity to be more like a cat, independent and strong. He was tired of his birdcage his fate had put him in…But then again, maybe that was why dogs seemed to like him so much? They could sense he was similar. The thought was sickening. He sighed and leaned back on the bench, looking up at the sky through the branches of the tree.

"You know," Claude murmured softly, "...Every animal in this world...has a predator. It is a complex system known as the food chain. All things in creation have predators. Why, except humans, some would say. But demons are creatures aswell, and humans are our food. We are not much above animals, as we are mere predators too. You say I am good with animals, but that may be because I do not place myself above them." He leaned over to Sebastian, nuzzling his cheek until he turned to face him, and took his lips softly.

Sebastian leaned into the kiss, severing it, "I do not put myself above them, when I can relate to them more than humans…but I tend to scare off most animals rather than attract them. Only this crow would be here if I were alone without you."

Claude took the finch and placed it atop Sebastian's hand. "But you have a lot of anger inside you. A lot of pain. Animals can sense such things. Let it be added that I am not uncivilized, as animals may be. I have grown up in a caste, in a society, I get arrogant towards those humans, and to those of my own race, but...I do try to be humble to the animals. Humility is a virtue I practice." He reached out and licked the demon's lips, giving a contented little moan. "...Of course, I am not perfect, either."

Sebastian looked into his lover's golden eyes, then down at the finch sitting upon his fingers, "…I wonder if I could ever let my anger go…" he whispered, surprised the little bird hadn't abandoned him.

Claude exhaled deeply. _'I never used to be so chatty_ ', he thought with amusement before resting a hand on Sebastian's thigh. "Perhaps. But know you're welcome to take your anger out on me any day," he muttered, watching the tiny little bird hop around on the demon's hand.

"My anger is mostly at my fate…my illness…I keep it inside because it wouldn't be right to take it out on anyone, or anything that has nothing to do with it." He shook his head.

Again Claude reached forward and kissed him. He trailed a gentle line of webbing along the man's defined cheeks. "Do not speak of it as if your fate is unchangeable," he muttered. "We've battled this far, have we not?"

"We have…all thanks to you." He nodded, "And as I've said before…if anyone can change my fate…it's you…you already have in more ways than I ever could have imagined."

Claude gently brushed the animals aside once his drink was finished and picked the demon up. "Very well. I'll be the one who alters your fate," he said gently, and started on the path back home.

Sebastian gave a gentle smile and took Claude's hand in his own as they walked, giving it a little squeeze as they walked.

"What would you like to do when we arrive home?" he questioned softly. It was true that where Claude went, animals often followed. There was a mouse following, last he checked, plus Sebastian's crow. "Will you be returning to your masters?"

"I should." He nodded, "As I have been absent from his side for far longer than I intended when I started having that attack…" he sighed, "It shall be nice when I have fulfilled my contract with him and needn't worry about spending too much time with you."

Claude stopped at a fork in the road that would take them to the separate mansions.

"Soon, Michaelis," he said in a soft tone. He didn't want him to leave, though. He wanted to take comfort in his touch. That seemed improbable now, however. "Take care."

"I'll continue to come see you when I can…as soon as I can." He promised, reaching up to run his fingers along a lock of hair, and then pressing a light kiss to his lips, "until then…go home and rest."

Claude's hands curled around the demon's wrists, pressing them to his chest. "I...I don't _want_ you to go," he whispered, something hinting at desperation in his eyes.

Sebastian looked up into his lover's eyes, searching them, "I have to go back sometime, Claude…" he whispered, "I can't stay with you forever…not yet."

Claude's golden eyes misted over for a moment, then he nodded firmly. "Yes. You're right." He touched his shoulder lightly. "Until next we meet, Sebastian."

"I'm sorry. I want to go back with you…I just have a contract to serve…" he apologized before pressing his lips firmly to Claude's.

"I know. I know all about your contract," he said into the kiss, taking the time to savor it before taking a few steps back. "One might almost be inclined to find a way to end it for you," he muttered, and then he vanished.

The crow blushed and shook his head. Before they had started dating, he would have taken such a comment as a threat. But it was oddly soothing now. He turned and started down the path to his master's estate.

Claude wondered if Sebastian thought he had simply ceased lusting for the soul of Ciel Phantomhive. Maybe he preferred not to think about it. But if a certain demon were to devour that precious, pure, white-chocolate soul...the contract would be null by default.

Was that him thinking rationally, or was he still not better? He wanted this for Sebastian's sake, though, and it had been too long. Of course, then he ran the risk of the voided contract killing the beautiful crow. And he couldn't have that.

* * *

To be continued...


	18. Chapter 18

A month passed with hardly a change to either demon's schedules, other than Claude's follow-up treatments. Sebastian went to spend the night with Claude every chance he got, as well as his usual attacks causing him to portal over into Claude's caring arms once, sometimes twice a week if it was particularly stressful for the crow demon.

The crow walked gracefully down the long lavish corridors to Ciel's office, knocking lightly before pushing the door open, a silver tea tray balanced on his gloved fingertips, and a small basket of apples adorned with a frilly pink bow hanging from the crook of his arm.

"Your tea, my lord, and Miss Elizabeth has sent you some fresh apples from her family's orchard." He explained, setting the tray and basket down, "As such, I have prepared a moist apple cinnamon crumble dip to go along with your tea." He poured the tea into a cup and set it down on the earl's desk. Removing his gloves, he picked up a glistening silver knife and began to peel a bright red apple and to slice it up into convenient bite-sized peaces for the earl to pick up with a small desert fork and dip into the sweet caramelized sauce.

Ciel nodded. "You'll send her my thanks then, won't you," he mumbled, considerably more concentrated on the delicious dip than he was on his fiancé. He watched his butler's skillful hands take the razor sharp knife, as every blade in the Phantomhive manor was expected to be, and begin to peel the apple for his master. Sebastian was still ailing, though, and he knew it. As much as Sebastian tried to keep it all hidden, he was often rushing off to that Claude Faustus.

Ciel's eye twitched whenever he thought of that man. But without him...what would his handsome, stoic butler be? Ciel often wondered if his demon would die.

Sebastian finished with the first apple and set it on a plate with the dip, offering it to his master before picking up a second apple. They were small, sweet apples, and Sebastian knew that one would not be enough to satisfy his master's sweet-tooth.

"Of course. I have already written out your thank you letter in the way it most pleases her. It only needs your signature before I send it out." the butler nodded, "I even used the stationary she gave you last time she came for a visit."

Setting the peel aside, he began to slice the apple, a sudden gasp escaping his lips, and his finger's slipping, the apple falling to the tray with a clatter as the knife's blade slipped, cutting deep into his palm as his stomach twisted sharply in an unexpected early attack. Blood rolling down his hand and dripping down onto the spotless silver tray, and into the dish containing more of the dipping sauce, though it went unnoticed by the demon as he groaned, clutching his gut, looking to his master for dismissal with a pale face distorted in pain.

Ciel was pleased with Sebastian's forethought and preparation as usual. Sebastian was still a very good butler— His thoughts were interrupted as his butler actually _gasped_. This was a sound he'd almost never heard before, and of course it meant something was deeply wrong. His eye shot to the man as he watched the blade slice deeply through Sebastian's skin, and the man double over in agony. The perfection didn't last long with his butler, these days. It was…pitiful.

Ciel quickly averted his eyes. He never wanted to see his butler like this. Frowning deeply, he muttered, "Go."

"My—Lord." The demon nodded before disappearing, leaving the boy alone with a small flash of light as the portal was activated through the blood bond they had forged.

Ciel looked at the blood on his desk and pulled his food away from it. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and dumped it on the little puddle of red. "Clumsy idiot," he muttered under his breath, though in truth he couldn't help but be concerned for his ailing butler.

Claude was outside, tending to his gardens contentedly when Sebastian arrived.

"Claude…"Sebastian gasped, as soon as he appeared a few feet away from the spider demon. He stumbled forward, leaning against his lover as got closer. With each attack he's had, the harder it got for him to play it off as nothing…to stand straight, to maintain a professional look.

Claude wasn't surprised to see Sebastian this way. He put down his gardening tool and held the demon close. He was clearly having an attack again, so Claude zipped back inside to begin the routine that they had grown all too accustomed to. Sebastian was handed his bucket wordlessly while the spider demon got to work on the potion.

In truth, Claude had not experienced any of the paranoia or pain that came from his head wound ever since the first lot of electroshock seizures. He hated going back for checkups with all his being, but he was starting to think he was well and truly cured. With that off his back, his relationship with Sebastian could almost be called healthy and they did grow a little closer each time they saw each other, regardless of the circumstances.

"Here," he murmured, letting the man drink from the goblet himself. Then he moved to prepare the tea.

Having grown used to the taste of the potion, Sebastian drank down the thick liquid easily, though he allowed himself to grimace at the taste left upon his tongue once he lowered the goblet and set it aside on a table. Patently waiting for the tea to be ready, and nibbling on the herbs that were kept in the room for him to help with some of the pain and cramps. "Thank you, Claude." He mumbled, relaxing onto the sofa, lifting his cut hand to assess the damage done to it.

Claude was very efficient, the tea was finished quickly and he brought the tray over so Sebastian wouldn't drop the cup when his body went numb. However that was less likely as the crow demon had been developing a little resistance to the paralysis. That made things more convenient. It didn't take too long until Sebastian was back on his feet again.

Claude took the pale hand into his own and raised it to his mouth, gently licking the wound so it would heal up nicely.

The crow smiled and carefully picked up the teacup with his good hand as Claude licked his wound, taking a sip of the tea that washed away the taste of the potion, "I was a little clumsy when my attack started up…" he explained, turning his hand over once the skin had grown back together as if it had never been cut, squeezing Claude's hand.

Claude nodded. "That's excusable then, isn't it," he murmured, casually stroking the demon's hair. He couldn't grasp how humiliating it must be to be continuously humiliated in front of his master every time he had an attack, and as usual, he felt quite sympathetic. As a prince, it must be crippling sometimes. "You'll be right in a bit," he murmured.

Sebastian nodded, "…Have you discovered anything new in your search for a cure?" he asked. It had been a few weeks since he had last inquired, and he was hopeful of any good news.

Claude hated being asked this. "I...not as of yet," he admitted. "I've been out, traveling here and there, talking to people...but not yet." He grasped Sebastian's hand. "...But it's out there somewhere. I'm certain of it."

"You'll find it…I know you will." He nodded, lacing his fingers through Claude's, "Just as I'll…somehow find the end of this contract…there are so many leads…I just need to follow the right one to free myself of this."

"It'll come about," Claude said in a gentle tone. He leaned in for the soft lips of his lover, still stroking his hair with his free hand. Sebastian smelled so nice, as usual. It was naturally enticing. "And if not, well...I'm not going anywhere."

Sebastian leaned in and slipped his arms around his lover, pressing a firm kiss to his lips before trailing a few gentle ones along his jaw, "I know."

Claude shivered lightly at the tender kisses. "Ah...you mustn't. You should be returning soon, and if you entice me I may have to keep you awhile," he murmured.

"Mmmh, But you've already tempted me…But if you insist, I could go back to my master, leaving you all alone to tend to the roses…" he teased, his lips brushing down Claude's neck.

Claude smirked faintly. "That may not be all I'll have to tend to if you leave," he murmured, holding the man to his neck and giving a content sigh.

"So…" The crow nibbled on his neck and sifted his weight to push the other down onto the couch beneath him, "Am I aloud to indulge in greed and stay a bit longer?"

"Whether I allow you or not is not an issue," Claude replied. "I imagine you'll stay regardless..." He pulled Sebastian down against him, his tongue flickering like a snake. He met his lips once more.

"Mm, you seem to know me all too well." The demon smirked into the kiss, "an hour or two won't hurt…"

Since there was no question that what was happening was happening fast, Claude didn't bother with the pleasantries. He pushed his hand down the front of Sebastian's pants and began to stroke him, warming him up with what indubitably was to come.

* * *

 

The following days flowed by with little mishap. Excluding messes and ruined meals because of the incapable servants serving the Phantomhive manor. Though Ciel had fallen ill with the flue, which kept everyone busy.

Dull morning light peaked over the horizon, brightening the grey sky only slightly as large raindrops beat a rhythm upon Sebastian's bedroom window, rousing him from his slumber.

The demon groaned, reluctant to leave his warm bed as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Something wasn't right…he didn't feel good. It had only been two days since his last attack, and yet, his stomach was already churning painfully threatening to expel it's contents.

With demonic speed, he was on his feet and into the small bathroom attached to his room, heaving into the toilet. It wasn't as painful as a normal attack, but that wasn't surprising…he had just had one, and this one hadn't been triggered by stress, pain, or extreme blood loss.

Once he finished with the first wave of nausea, he portaled without a word to Claude, finding himself kneeling next to the demon's bed. He reached out, gripping the spider's shoulder and shaking him slightly, "…Claude…wake up…"

"I think not," Claude mumbled after groaning with discontent. " 'm sleeping.." He didn't wish to wake and wasn't entirely in touch with reality at this point. But slowly he matched the call with Sebastian's voice, and one golden eye peeked open.

"..Sebastian...what's the matter?"

"I think….another attack…" his eyes widened and he was running to the nearest bathroom again, dropping to his knees and bending over the porcelain bowl with a groan.

Claude forced himself up. "...so early in the morning?" Usually they had the decency to wait until midday. He crawled out of bed. Last night's nightwear was red and white stripped flannel pajamas. He added a pair of slippers to this attire and followed Sebastian into the bathroom. "Should I get to making the potion then?" he asked. He couldn't _feel_ the signs of Sebastian's attack through their blood bond, like usual.

"Please? It's…not as bad as usual, but…" he heaved once more into the toilet, groaning in embarrassment over his predicament so early in the day. He hadn't even gotten to prepare breakfast or wake Ciel.

"You don't need to say please to me," Claude responded. Even though something seemed off, he slipped downstairs to make the potion as usual, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Personally he didn't mind. He was glad to see Sebastian any time of the day.

He brought the warm goblet back and sat it down on the bathroom sink.

Sebastian reached up, taking the goblet once his stomach calmed a bit, and he brought it to his lips, managing to down half of it before he was back over the toilet bowl, retching it back up again.

Claude sighed, casually pinning Sebastian's bangs back off his forehead the way he sometimes did if the vomiting was particularly bad. "Here, drink the tea first," he said soothingly, rubbing his back. "You'll be alright in a bit."

Sebastian nodded, waiting until he thought it was safe to take the tea, sipping it slower than normal and leaning against Claude's shoulder. "…This time feels different…" he muttered.

"I know," Claude responded, kissing his neck. "Are you having the cramps this time?" In fact, Sebastian seemed to be merely nauseous.

The crow shook his head, "It's just my stomach…" he moaned, though the tea seemed to help calm it. He took another sip.

"Then, it's likely you're just sick, isn't it?" Claude asked, feeling affectionate towards the demon. "You're just not feeling well?" He felt his forehead.

"…Maybe…but…I've never simply not felt well before…It's always been my illness…"

Claude nodded. "I know. In truth I'm actually a little more concerned that it is not related to your illness, because...demons don't catch cold so easily." He reached into the bathroom cupboard and drew out an oral thermometer, and pressed it into his mouth.

"Hn. Your temperature is normal. How odd..."

Sebastian's frown deepened and he looked up at Claude with big sulky eyes, "…Then…what's wrong with me, Claude?"

Claude sighed deeply. "Oh, don't give me that look. If you're having secondary symptoms for something, you can trust I'll be able to figure it out and most likely be able to help."

"…I'll look at you how I wish to. Sometimes it brings a slight flush to your cheeks…" he said before sipping more tea, "I know you'll find out what it is…I am just not keen on the idea that I have something wrong with me other than my illness…"

When Sebastian had stopped vomiting, Claude took him to the Room he had set up for medical checkups and procedures. He gave him a once over, going through a list of basic symptoms, though his nausea didn't seem to have any cause at the moment. Nothing Sebastian had eaten, because Sebastian quite generally didn't eat. "I imagine all we can do is wait to see if another symptom manifests."

"…I guess we'll have to do that…but I still don't like it…Even if…whatever this is brings me to you more often…it has me worried."

"I would say you are over thinking this, Sebastian. I know you might be worried, but it might be nothing. We're not perfect, as much as we pretend to be." He kissed the man's lips gently, unpinning his hair.

"Maybe…" Sebastian sighed and combed his fingers through his hair, still messy and tangled from sleeping, "I'll contact you if anything new pops up…"

"How about the young master?" Claude asked. "I believe you mentioned in your last visit that he had not been well. Perhaps you caught something off him?" It seemed a valid theory.

"…Perhaps…he could very well have caught a cold or flu and…maybe my illness at the point that it has digressed to…maybe it has made me more acceptable to human ailments?" he looked up at Claude with a questionable gaze. He was hardly an expert at demonic illnesses and their effects, but Claude was trained in medical magics.

Claude ran his fingers through the mans silky hair. "You are susceptible to many things. I would not be surprised if you can catch human diseases... Or at least...if you were merely a carrier before... Fall ill to a mutated strain. What did you say was wrong with Bocchan? Perhaps I can do some research and come up with something."

"Nausea, fever…he seems weak and shakes even when trying to lift his teacup…" the demon muttered, "The human doctor he had me send for said it was simply a bad case of the flu, but his prescription hasn't started to take effect…"

Claude nodded. "I suppose... If you keep having symptoms, I'll go and take a look at him myself. See if I can determine what's wrong and develop a cure. For both of you, if need be." He rubbed Sebastians thigh lightly.

Sebastian nodded, "If he doesn't start feeling better soon, I'll propose to him that you take a look. I'm sure your knowledge is far greater than that of any human doctor."

Claude looked him over calmly, still absentmindedly stroking his thigh. "Perhaps. But I will not brag." He licked a little sweat off the demons cheek.

"No? Then allow me to stroke your pride for you. I truly do believe it." The crow smiled, turning to catch Claude's cheek with his lips as he pulled away.

"Oh, I have plenty of pride. You would do well to stroke my lust instead," he flirted, squeezing his thigh.

"…Hmm, I suppose the young master could afford the extra sleep…" the demon smirked, leaning in and slipping his hand under Claude's pajama top.

"Well... It's been over a week," Claude breathed, arching his broad chest to Sebastian's gentle fingers. "I'm almost starved for your touch, Michaelis."

"…Two weeks, I believe…" he replied in a gentle voice, his fingers running along his lover's abs and following his waist along over his hips. He chuckled, "I don't ever remember being so lustful before you…"

"Nor I. Perhaps drinking your blood has made me addicted... Or...our bond... Or...our sentiments. In fact..." He shifted his hips upwards, into his hand. "It doesn't matter... I just want you. All the time." He leaned in and captured his lips hungrily.

Sebastian pulled him closer, his fingers tightening around Claude's length beneath the cloth, "Then take what you want while you have the chance…" he breathed into the kiss.

"Ah... You don't taste so nice," he commented with an amused smirk. "You're feeling better now , or...?" He gently pushed at Sebastian's hand, rubbing it lightly over his groin.

Sebastian grinned, "Yes, I'm feeling better…Most likely thanks to your tea…" he rubbed a little harder, his fingers teasingly tugging on the waist of Claude's pajama bottoms, "But if you rather I go…I can stop…" he pulled his hands away.

Claude was steadily growing hard, his strong erection pitching slowly in his soft pajamas. "I want to say stay, but...we both have places we need to be soon..." He gave a discomforted growl nonetheless.

"Oh? Do you have a check-up?" he asked, casually pulling Claude's pants down, "How about we make this quick, hmm?"

"Believe it or not.. I do more than sit around waiting for you to come stumbling in, and getting zapped by the Asian," he said a little dryly, but not protesting as Sebastian removed his pants and exposed him. "More research on your disease, however. Heard of a man who may know something. Going to check it out."

"I know you don't. I was just asking…I don't know how often he has you go in…" he hummed, settling between his lover's legs and sliding his tongue along his hardened length, "Besides, I feel I owe you something for waking you up so early on a false attack…"

Claude cupped his cheek and settled on the lounge. "Ah..." Goosebumps ran over his skin as the man licked him. "I suppose you do owe me that, then..." His eyes glinted eagerly, his expression cool as always.

The corners of Sebastian's lips twitched upwards as he let the tip of Claude's member slip past his lips into his hot mouth, his tongue wrapping around it to coat it with saliva as he took more of it in, slowly reaching his hilt before pulling back and starting up a rhythm.

"Perhaps we...Hh...should free up a day sometime soon...where we can just have continuous sex, as rough and kinky as we like. I'll show you the ropes, lover," he said, his breathing growing heavier.

"Hmmm~" he stroked his lips up to Claude's tip to speak, "I'd like that." He smirked and took in all of his lover again, speeding his pace as he bobbed his head in the spider's lap.

"Of course you would," Claude whispered, taking grip in his hair as Sebastian began to move faster. "Why don't I let you do this more often, Malphas? You're certainly very skill- _haa_..." He leaned back, gyrating lightly as the man sucked him off.

Humming, the crow hollowed his cheeks, sucking them in to create a vacuum around his lover's member, his fingers sliding under his chin to grip and massage Claude's base and sack, silently urging him towards his release.

Claude groaned. "Sh...nn...Sebastian..." His hands took a firm grip on the man's shoulders and scratched deeply as he felt an orgasm building inside him. He pushed himself deeper down the man's throat, starting to pant more deeply.

Sebastian almost gagged, but managed to open his throat up more as Claude thrust into it. He moaned around the member and lightly scraped his teeth along it. With his free hand, he reached over to wipe up a trickle of blood that had formed from Claude's nails, and reached up to press it to his lover's lips, knowing the taste of his blood would only aid in his pleasure.

Seeing Sebastian's bloody hand rise to his face, Claude took it and greedily sucked on his fingers, consuming the substance. The coil inside him grew tighter, and precum leaked slowly from his tip as he let out a hungrier groan. "Ah...Se…I'm c...ah...I'm co.."

Sebastian bobbed his head faster, moving his hands to grip the other demon's hips as he guided him in and out of his mouth and throat.

Claude released a final groan as he reached orgasm and his hot seed burst into Sebastian's mouth. His black nails dug harder into Sebastian's shoulders and he gasped out in pleasure.

With a seductive moan, Sebastian drank down his lover's evidence of a climax, his lips stroking along his shaft a few more times before he released him, licking his lips as he came up to claim a kiss.

Claude pulled the man down against him, returning the kiss contentedly and gratefully. "A-aah…A pleasure as always, Sebastian."

"Mmmh, don't mention it." He smiled against his lips, running his fingers up through his hair.

* * *

To be continued...


	19. Chapter 19

Sebastian's nausea didn't cease, even though Ciel had seemed to get better over the next few weeks after that. Always in the mornings, and completely unrelated from Aeterna Fames. Sebastian had started to just deal with that nausea quietly, and at home by himself.

There was one tiny idea blossoming in Claude's mind, but it was already immediately shunned. He kept hard at working on a cure for his disease instead, at least until one morning when Sebastian returned to him once more.

After his new morning ritual of secretly getting sick in his small washroom, keeping it from the other servants, his master, and even Faelan, Sebastian splashed his warm, flushed face with cold water and dried it. Combing his hair and walking back into his room, opening the wardrobe to change into a fresh, neatly pressed uniform.

He quickly stripped out of his loose-fitting pajamas, tossing them onto his bed before grabbing a pair of black pants, catching sight of himself in the full-length mirror that had been hung on the inside door of his wardrobe. Something wasn't right with his reflection. Stepping closer to it, the crow demon studied himself, his eyes trailing over his own figure, trying to pinpoint what was off.

About to give up, he started to turn away, moving to continue dressing himself, and catching sight of what had changed. His gut no longer seemed perfectly flat, bulging out and stretching his belly ever so slightly. Freezing, the demon ran his hand over it, feeling the bulge as he stared into the mirror. Demons who were strong enough to take on human forms always—male or female—had the perfect body. Designed to tempt humans in lustful ways. Physical flaws, such as weight gain was never an issue they even had to think about…

And yet…

Sebastian turned away from the mirror, tossing on his pants and shirt quickly, leaving his waistcoat and tie laying at the foot of his bed and not bothering to tuck in his spotless white dress-shirt before portaling to Claude's side.

Claude was in his study, deeply studying a thick, stereotypically archaic and aged spell book. Even if he wasn't learning about Sebastian's illness, there was always something new he could pick up instead that might be useful.

He was faintly surprised to see Sebastian appear so early in the morning again, since Sebastian had taken to dealing with his nausea alone. Maybe something was off, a new symptom, perhaps? He got up out of his chair, standing up tall and elegantly.

"...Good morning."

"Morning…" Sebastian responded in a distracted tone, tugging at his shirt as if it would somehow cause his bloated middle to flatten out once more, "I…think I might have another symptom along with the nausea…"

Claude looked at him uneasily. "Um...what is it?" he asked, giving him a glance over. Sebastian looked a little distressed, which made Claude think it would be something very odd.

Adverting his eyes, Sebastian removed his shirt and turned to the side, flushing in embarrassment as he stayed completely silent, allowing his lover to see his physical flaw.

Claude was also silent for a long minute, adjusting his golden frames and staring at the odd bump. "Ah, damn it," he muttered."...No, this isn't good at all."

Frowning further, the embarrassed demon pulled his shirt back on and stepped closer to his lover, "…Please tell me it's not what I think it is…" he whispered.

Claude looked down, unexpectedly having trouble finding words. "You've been thinking it too, then," he muttered.

"…It's near impossible…but…it wouldn't be the first time I've been cursed with the luck to gain a condition so rare…" he said slowly, "But, unlike with Aeterna Fames…this…isn't as accepted…it's not just a blow to my pride…"

"A parasite," Claude murmured. "...Oh, this is not good." There was a bed in the study, so Claude lay him down there to examine it more seriously. "...Growing quickly."

Sebastian nodded, "When I went to bed I hadn't noticed a change in my body…it got this big over night."

"Have you been feeling tired, of late? More-so than usual?" Claude asked, frowning and running his fingers lightly over it. "Drained, perhaps?"

Again, he nodded, "More-so each day. I've been going to bed as soon as I put Bocchan to sleep…I've been leaving all my usual nighttime responsibilities to Faelan…And some morning the nausea is the only reason I can get myself out of bed on time…"

"Of course it would be taking your energy, and let's face it, you don't have a lot," Claude remarked. A gentle golden glow ran over Sebastian's stomach, and he could feel the life-force of the thing. "Something has to be done."

"No one can find out, either…" the crow muttered, watching his lover as he was examined.

Claude closed his eyes. "You've only had me as…as a lover, recently?" he asked. He could probably have been able to tell, through the blood bond, but he thought he'd ask anyway. He had to be certain.

"Of course." He nodded, "But why would it matter who planted this thing in me? You're going to take it out, right? Kill it before it grows much more?"

"Of course I am," Claude responded. "What sort of man do you think I am?" There wouldn't be much time. When males of the demon race were afflicted with this issue, extermination was mandatory. "...I suppose we'd better deal with this right now."

The crow nodded, "Do what you need to." He was willing to take every risk that such an extraction might pose, for more reasons other than it was the law of Demon kind; He already had Aeterna Fames which weakened him enough. Demonic pregnancies always went by fast; normally the child would be born within three months, which put incredible strain on the 'mother's' body. He couldn't afford having both conditions at once.

"Of course. This vermin would only aggravate your condition," Claude replied, striding over to his books to read back up on how one would go about such an extermination. Naturally an incision would be necessary, as the life-sucking parasite didn't have any place to go.

"It would." He agreed, "It's already been more trouble than it's worth. We may have to be more careful when it comes to our lustful activities…though…it is rare…so it is unlikely to happen again…"

"Almost impossible," Claude replied, kneeling back beside him with a sterilized surgical scalpel. "This will hurt," he said, giving his hand a brief squeeze. He wiped a cloth stained with a brown-orange liquid over his stomach. "At least it's not too late. This would have proven fatal for you, Sebastian, without the consumption of souls."

The demon grit his teeth, readying himself for the deep cut he knew was coming. He lay back as still as he could, grabbing a pillow to bite should it prove more painful than he was anticipating.

Claude readied the blade and lowered it to the bump in Sebastian's stomach. His opposite hand held the yellow glow over the same spot. He pressed the blade to his skin and prepared to slide it across.

Sebastian's red eyes flickered away from his stomach, and to Claude's face. Not because he didn't think he could handle the sight of what was going to be pulled from his stomach, but because it was comforting to see the spider's emotionless, concentrated gaze, and Claude appeared completely ice-cold as a tiny pool of blood welled up at the base of the prodding tool. He began to neatly glide it across, when suddenly something from _inside_ Sebastian hit his stomach from the inside, knocking the blade off course. Claude drew it back, his eyes widening momentarily.

Sebastian's breath caught in his throat and a pained grunt forced it's way past his lips, "That…didn't feel…normal…" he groaned, though he had never been cut open in such a way or for such a purpose before. But something hadn't been right…it felt like something had moved.

Claude didn't like this at all. Nonetheless he continued to make the incision, moving only about an inch across Sebastian's stomach. Blood began to run and there was another push and for a second he thought he saw the imprint of a tiny hand press hard against the surface. It surprised him, and he almost dropped the knife.

"Ahh!" Sebastian gasped in pain, his eyes watering. There was no doubt. He could feel the parasite living off him moving, upset over the surgery Sebastian was undergoing. The small demon began to kick and hit at his inner walls, a light scratching, almost as if it already had claws. His breathing grew heavier, and his hand instinctively flew to his stomach, pressing against the side where Claude wasn't cutting.

Claude looked understandably a little horrified. He closed his eyes for a minute, thinking of what to do. "Shh.." he murmured, taking Sebastian's hand away. He stared at the cut for a minute, seeing continuous hits against the smooth surface of his stomach. He cursed under his breath. It was hurting Sebastian, and just now, he had a terrible thought.

Sebastian bit down on his lip hard enough to pierce his skin and let beads of blood form, his hand squeezing Claude's as he tried to calm his breathing…and the fetus inside him fighting so hard to stay.

Claude knew a bit about a lot of things, including this. For some bloodlines, there were both attack and defense mechanisms for growing embryos. His bloodline, he faintly recalled something bad. "I'm sorry, Sebastian. I don't think I can remove this pest today," he said, taking a needle. "I have to make sure of something first." The needle slipped into the cut, accurately piercing the membrane of what was definitely an amniotic sac. He began to extract some of the fluid. It was a dangerous looking green-yellow color.

The crow's eyes widened, "Why…can't you? When can you? I can't keep carrying this little abomination…"

Claude flicked the needle. "I need to see what risks are posed to you if I remove it. I don't want to hurt you. Give me time to study this sample," he said simply, quickly weaving a few stitches into Sebastian's stomach and wiping the blood off.

Sebastian nodded, the child within him calming a little after he had been closed back up, the pain easing. Sighing, he lay back against the pillows, using them to prop himself up so he could watch Claude work with little strain on his stitched up abdomen.

Claude was silent for a few hours after that, working away diligently. Sometimes his spiders brought him pests. He was presented with a cockroach, and upon exposing the cockroach to that fluid, it dropped dead instantly. To kill a hardy creature like the cockroach, it must have been a strong poison indeed. Yes, it confirmed it. As a demon of spiders, the fetal young kept poison close. Any attempts to abort the thing and the carrier would die instantly.

After an hour of watching Claude work, Sebastian had unknowingly drifted off, his eyes closing and his head falling to the side on the soft feather pillows supporting him. His depleted energy because of the unborn child combined with no chores to keep him busy forced him to simply allow his body to take what it desperately needed; another nap.

Claude sat at his desk for a long while. Even a drop of this poison, in one who was not arachnid-inclined, could be fatal. Poor Sebastian wouldn't stand a chance. He turned and looked at his lover, sleeping on the bed. The child could easily be killed once it was born. If Claude could keep Sebastian alive until then...But it wouldn't be easy. Sebastian would have to break a very strict law that he lived by. Claude made him some tea with medicinal herbs mixed in, and brought it to him. He sat down to stroke his hair, wondering vaguely why such things had to come up in their lives.

The faint, soft stokes through his hair were enough to arouse Sebastian from his slumber, along with the knowledge that he was in quite a predicament. He forced his eyes open, blinking them until they focused properly. "…are you done?" he asked in a groggy voice, moving to push himself up more, having slid down as he slept.

Claude nodded grimly, setting the tea down beside him. There was no point beating around the bush. "Sebastian, I can't remove it," he said bluntly.

Sebastian's eyes widened again, feeling quite awake as he sat up straght, "What do you mean you 'can't'? Why? The…It's the law of our kind if a male becomes a host…"

"I know the law," he said irritably. "It has to die. But I can't take it out without killing you, alright? My bloodline trait will prevent that. You'll be poisoned, and you'll die. All I can do is choose the lesser of two evils, and destroy the mutant once it's born properly."

"…How cruel…making me carry it to term…" he said in a low voice, looking at the bump, "…how am I to hide something like this? Three months…I can't simply disappear from Bocchan for three months…"

"It could be removed. But you would die, Sebastian, and..." he glanced away. "You will not ask me to be the one who does it. You _will not_."

Sebastian glanced away, blinking to fight the tears threatening to pool in his eyes, "…So, I'd die either way…My body most likely wont hold up…and with my contract there's no way I could consume enough souls…unless I'm able to complete the contract within…how much time do you think I have before this thing really starts to affect me? A week? It's impossible… there are too many leads, even for a demon like me to follow in such a time…"

Claude's jaw set firmly. "You're not going to die, Sebastian. You think we've both gone through everything we have so far so you may simply die now? I will do whatever it takes to prolong your life." He grasped his shoulders, his golden eyes blazing. "We'll keep it secret, and I will...bring you everything you need to survive."

"…You know I'll need Bocchan's soul… while under contract…any other soul would have hardly any effect on me…" he whispered, "It'd be more like when I was taking human blood to try and lesson the pain of my attacks…"

"Maybe I can bring enough to sustain you," Claude said. "Since ending the contract at this point seems impossible. I'd rather give you a fighting chance than do something I _know_ is going to kill you, do you understand?" He held a slightly emotive tone.

He nodded, moving to lean against Claude, "…I'm sorry…I don't mean to sound so negative…" he muttered in a softer tone.

Claude placed an arm around him. "...Children...they're not supposed to be born this way...they're...mutants. They should only come from the ones who take the physical form of a female. It is not natural, otherwise they wouldn't have to be cut out."

"We aren't built for it." He agreed, "And even if I was able to take a female form…it's too late. Shape shifting between forms is impossible like this…" he sighed, "…Claude…How are we to do this? I can't keep using the energy—even if it's shared—to portal over here whenever I need you."

"Well...I'll keep the bond wide open, so if you feel something—even if its tiny—I'll know it. I'll...collect souls for you...however many it takes to keep you and the parasite contained. But I don't know what to do about your young master. You have duties, and..."

"…I might…have to tell him…and you know Faelan will figure it out before too long. I trust him not to report it, but…" he scowled down at the contract tattooed onto the back of his hand.

"The young one has been rather content since you promoted him, has he not?" Claude asked. "I imagine he is the type not to report anything. Look...Ciel...I mean...you could tell him that this is _bigger_ than him. Its business he should stay out of. Since the parasite will die either way, it won't cause any problems after it's born.

Sebastian nodded, "It's the problems it'll cause before then that worries me. But I promise I won't give up…You just be careful….stealing so many souls for me…it's bound to attract reapers."

"If you can bring yourself to consume then, I can bring myself to steal them for you. I don't imagine the reapers will be a problem, anyway..." His long fingers trailed through Sebastian's hair and he closed his eyes in faint exasperation."...damn…"

"Just promise…once it's dead…it never happened…we forget about it and what we both have to do because of it…" The crow said, pressing his fingertips to his temples and rubbing away a slight headache.

Claude lay his head down in Sebastian's lap, betraying his distress. "We'll forget it..." he said with a sigh, finding Sebastian's hand and squeezing it.

"We'll survive it." Sebastian added, running his fingers through his hair, trying to hide the waver in his voice, "We can do it…together…as long as it's secret and forgotten…" he shifted to lay next to him, curling around his body and hugging him.

* * *

To be continued...


	20. Chapter 20

Something was off about Sebastian. At least, Ciel thought there was. But he couldn't be sure. For the last two days he'd been awfully sick again, vomiting and having terrible fevers. It had been another fortnight since Claude had first diagnosed Sebastian as having an awful, untreatable parasite, and the signs were showing quite physically for Sebastian. Ciel _thought_ he looked odd around the waist area, but he was probably just imagining it...He'd been seeing the oddest things lately.

Sebastian mounted the stairs, walking up them and shooting a dark glare at Mey-rin and Finny who were staring at him—or rather, the bulge that strained the buttons on his waistcoat. He had planned the last three days to tailor a few of his uniforms to better accommodate his growing problem, but between his chores and needing to rest to regain the energy the parasite was stealing, he hadn't had the time. His glare was successful in scaring the incompetent servants away, at least for a while as he reached the top of the steps, pausing to catch his breath now that no one was watching him; his grip on the railing tightening and the trey balanced on his other hand teetering slightly, causing the basin of fresh water for Ciel to clatter against it's silver platform.

Ciel heard him walk in slowly. Actually, Sebastian didn't seem very well. Worse than usual, which made him concerned. But Ciel grew weaker by the day, and all he wanted to do was sleep. He couldn't summon the strength for an intrusive conversation with his enigmatic demon butler. "Sebas...tian.." he rasped as the man came in. "...is that you?" He didn't want to open his eyes.

"Yes, my lord, it is." Sebastian replied in the strongest voice he could, masking his tired, weak reality. He set the tray down on the table and took the warm, moist cloth from the boy's forehead, dipping it in the fresh water and squeezing it out before dabbing it along the boy's face, "How are you feeling?"

Ciel didn't reply for a long time, loving the feeling of the wet cloth against his burning face. "...Am I going to die, Sebastian?" he asked weakly, slowing cracking open his contracted eye to stare at the butler kneeling beside him.

Sebastian frowned, staying silent. He had to admit, fate was not looking good for the young earl…and the mortal doctors who had been summoned had all been at a loss at the strange illness that had taken the earl. But, he was a demon butler, one contracted to the boy…and as such, he could not simply let his master die before the contract was fulfilled.

"…Not if I can help it, sir." He finally said, dipping the cloth again, "And, with your permission, I would like to summon one last doctor…one who is not human…"

"Your...doctor?" he asked, his hand wrapping around the gloved pinky finger of his butler. "...Wh...what if I have cancer?" he asked. "C-can your doctor cure that?"

"…I am not knowledgeable in the medical world, young master…I can not say if he could…or even if that is what you have. But if anyone can help you…I believe it to be him. And I trust him to do so, should a cure be possible." The butler assured him, pushing the boy's hair out of his face in a strangely fatherly way.

A bead of sweat trickled down the boy's cheek. "Your doctor," he whispered. "He can't...he can't fix you. ...I don't think he...can do the same for me. I think I will die." He grit his teeth, breathing uneasily, his mind spinning.

"…Ciel…" he said softly, calling him by his first name, rather than his title, "True, not everything has a cure…but he has not given up on my condition…and I won't give up on yours."

Ciel nodded slowly, and then he was asleep again before he could talk anymore. He thought the first time had been the worst of it, but now the illness had come back worse than ever, and nobody could pinpoint an exact diagnosis. But such was life in Victorian England...people could be there one day and gone the next. At least Sebastian would try his hardest. He knew that, if nothing else.

Sebastian rinsed the cloth once more before laying it over the boy's forehead, rubbing his eyes as he turned away, quietly walking out of the room. He was hungry…starving to the point even human food sounded good…even sweets. In fact, he was craving it. Being so hungry, he hardly trusted himself around Ciel when he was asleep, so leaving the room was his best solution. Slowly, he walked down to the kitchen and opened the icebox, finding a single slice of cake left over that the other servants hadn't devoured yet. Taking it out, he grabbed a fork and slowly brought a small forkful to his lips, surprised when the sweet taste of it didn't make him feel sick as it normally would.

A pair of pale eyes stared at him from the darkness. "...Master," came the feminine voice, "...is that...cake?" Faelan stepped into the light, approaching him slowly.

"…Yes, it is…" Sebastian nodded, turning to look over his shoulder at his servant, "I wondered how long it would take you to confront me."

"It is...not my business to confront you about anything, Master. But I...feel I must comment on this highly unusual behavior. Are you _trying_ to make yourself sick?"

"No, I'm not…it just…tastes good…for once. And it is the better alternative to breaking contract and taking advantage of Bocchan's vulnerable soul…" he sighed, sitting down at the table the servants usually eat their meals at, "I'm incredibly hungry…"

Faelan sighed, unable to keep his words back anymore. He sat down with him. "...Master...I've been…quietly observing...And...your symptoms," he said with a slight cough, "they're..."

"Yes," The crow took another bite of the cake slice, his eyes fixed on the smaller demon, "I assumed you would. And you have most likely come to the correct conclusion. I will not withhold the truth."

Faelan winced. "You're...with child," he said in the tiniest voice. "Princely offspring...grows within you, right..?"

"…I am…if that is the wording you wish to use for this condition." He nodded, unable to hold back an annoyed twitch of his eyebrow, "I prefer the term 'parasite'."

Faelan stared hard at him. "If that's the case, then why haven't you removed it yet? Why have you let it grow to this po...Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"…We can't…" Sebastian said, staring down at his slice of cake, "We can't abort it. We tried…apparently, it's genes are more to the spider side than the crow, and removing it before it's ready to come out on it's own, would result in it poisoning me…carrying it to full term is the only chance I have at surviving it."

"And you're going to kill it when its born," Faelan said in a rather sad tone. "The poor innocent child with no way to defend itself?"

"…It's an abomination. It's being mothered by a male demon…you know the law about that. A law I am already breaking as I am allowing it to feed off me to birth." The crow muttered, already feeling a strange attachment for the creature inside him. Probably the hormones. That had to be it. The thing would come out and die, and he'll be fine…

"Not...thinking about it in terms of laws...I have always wondered...why these children need to die. They've never been any different to one grown within a female..." He naturally prepared himself to be punished for questions the laws.

"It is not our place to question them…not mine, let alone yours…" the crow sighed, pushing the half-eaten slice of cake away from him and rested his chin on his folded arms upon the table, "…As long as I can keep cold to it, following the law won't…be a problem…"

The albino stood up slowly. He swallowed, before murmuring, "Well...master. Neither of _my_ fathers could keep cold to it," he whispered. "..And I am a good, normal, faithful demon."

Sebastian's red gaze flickered to the young demon; "…Then they have done a good job on keeping the secret safe…and you would do good to do the same for their sake. It's harder for me to keep such a secret…It'll have royal blood as my heir. The other royals will find out about it if it survives for long after birth."

"If you're so ashamed," said Faelan flatly, "...why not take a concubine and say the child is hers? Nobody would question you."

"…It's common knowledge that I won't take a female into my bed. Weather they think I fathered or mothered it, they would know it's from a male. Besides…I don't want to take any concubines…" he removed a glove and ran his finger through the frosting on the side of the cake.

Faelan rolled his eyes when Sebastian wasn't looking. "No one will question who you take as a lover, _sir_. You can just _pretend_ to..." He sighed a little in frustration. "...No. Never mind. The law is the law. As you say...those children are abominations. They don't deserve life." His place had been long forgotten as he strode out of the room in anger.

Sebastian sat in silence, eyeing the frosting on his finger before letting out a sigh, "Why is it lately, that every time I talk to him I'm left feeling…guilty?" he mused to himself.

* * *

 

Claude stood along the edge of a clock tower, looking over the dark city of London. He couldn't believe he was stealing souls again. The thought was despicable. But...he would do it. Whatever it took to save Sebastian. After so much time and effort he'd put in to saving his life...Claude would not be the one to kill him. There was a defenseless human, drunk, in a back alley. What an easy kill.

Claude knelt in the shadows, golden eyes glinting and watching the drunk man just about to pass out. He had sent a few little spiders along to observe the prey. One of them gave him a tiny bite, paralyzing him, and Claude dragged the unfortunate human by a trail of webbing into the darkness. He licked his lips, wanting so badly to take the soul for himself. But Sebastian needed it. He knelt over the victim, watching the poison take effect and quickly kill him.

The silent streets were interrupted by few things; a couple of drunks stumbling along as they made their way home, a few stray cats looking for a meal, and then there was the sound of heels tapping along the cobblestone.

Green polychrome eyes gazed through a pair of red spectacles at a sheet of paper, going down the list of names and locations. Within the past week, the amount of missing and stolen souls had increased alarmingly, and thanks to his persistent flirting with his boss; Grell had been assigned to find the demon, demons, or whatever was responsible for it; which of course meant over-time.

Not that the red reaper particularly cared. The increase in missing souls had also caused an increase in dead bodies; which in turn kept the local Undertaker, (the man he had been focusing most of his affections on, as of late), quite busy himself. Of course, he could always go back to the demon that had caught his eye. It had been months—nearly a year since he had last seen the demonic butler, but an investigation did keep him busy, and it was one that promised the potential for a fight.

Oh, how he had longed for the chance to carve the blood from the body of an opponent with his beloved scythe. He could hardly remember the last time he had been able to use it to paint the scene red…

Grell stopped; another name showing up on his list. The location was close by; and if he hurried, he could catch the culprit—and maybe even collect the soul before it's consumed. Turning on his heel, Grell hurried down the road and turned down a dark alley. His chainsaw already in hand as his gaze caught sight of the demon, "Well, hello, handsome~" he smiled, flashing his pointed teeth, "Mind letting go of that soul?"

Claude raised his eyes emotionlessly. "I know you," he breathed, taking the soul into his hands. He'd met some irritating reapers in his time, but this one took the cake. He'd been involved back when Alois was nearing his last days. "...Best leave now. It's too late." And Claude would kill him if he grew too bothersome.

"No can do, darling." He smiled, stepping closer again, "You see, you have been causing my coworkers and I quite the headache, and I think it needs to stop—tonight." He paused, pushing his long red hair back over his shoulder, "And here I thought you were one of the good ones. Hadn't you made a contract last time we met? Why go back to stealing, and…" he eyed the glowing ball of soul in the demon's hand, "Why are you so hesitant to consume what you have stolen when you could easily have finished it before I showed up?"

"What business could that possibly be of yours?" Claude asked. Several of his little arachnid companions drifted down onto Grell's hair and shoulders. The spider demon straightened up, temporarily hiding the soul away. "Like I said...it's too late. Run along."

"Grell shivered, swatting at a particularly large spider on his shoulder, "Uhg, hate these things!" he looked at the demon, his eyes glinting as he raised his scythe, "I think you know why it is entirely my business, Hottie. And as tempting a man you are, I will not hesitate to paint you red~ Hand over the soul."

Claude slowly bared a row of sharp teeth at him. He felt the loss of his companion sharply. "All that red is so garish," he said acidly. "Especially on you." He observed the weapon Grell Sutcliff had. With reapers, the key was to turn their own weapon on them.

He leapt up out of the alleyway and onto the roof. And of course...he was only toying with the man at this point.

"You obviously have no taste!" Grell snapped, gritting his teeth and bounding after the demon, his scythe's blade roaring to life.

Well...he _had_ killed one of Claude's spiders. Poor Ishanvi. He might as well rip this ridiculous man a new one while he was busy lusting for souls, simply extracting a golden knife from his jacket.

Grell leapt up, swinging his chainsaw back as he came down towards the demon, "Why do you need so many souls anyway? You can't simply be hungry!" The redhead asked with a grin, bringing his blade down to cut through the spider demon.

Claude flitted left-ways, easily executing a back flip out of the path of the chainsaw before bringing his knee sharply into the man's stomach. He dug the golden knife right into his neck, over the right carotid artery, and jumped back coldly, watching the blood begin to run. "No. I'm not."

The reaper's gasp held a slight gurgle as blood rushed up into his mouth and ran down his neck, staining his clothes, his eyes narrowed and he swung again, "Then there's no reason for you to keep that soul!" he growled, blood spilling over his lips.

"I'm a demon, why do you care why I take souls?" He growled, leaping back. That attack had been close. "Someone I know needs it. I don't mind telling you since you will probably not survive this night. More spiders dropped over Grell's shoulders, all carrying paralyzing venom. Claude just smirked.

Grell shuttered, pausing to brush the spiders off himself, "Stop sending your creepy little minions on me! I—ow!" he jerked his hand back as one spider bit his wrist where his skin had been exposed, "Stupid things! I care because your greed in taking souls is causing _me_ overtime I could be spending with someone _much_ better looking and well-mannered than you!"

"I'm very well mannered," Claude replied. "I'm assisting my lover. I'm saving his life, you silly man. Actually, that could rate better than _taking_ their lives away."

"…And why would they need so many souls? And why can't they get it themselves?" Grell lunged forward, swinging his chainsaw at Claude once more, gasping when his step seemed sluggish and his ankle twisted, sending him scrambling to stay on his feet and having to abort his attack.

"Again," said Claude, "that is not your business. He is unwell and will die, otherwise." Seeing the reaper's weakness he leapt at him, kicking him sharply down onto the ground. "You will suffer for meddling. My job is quite urgent, see. And I was fond of Ishanvi."

He kicked the chainsaw away and pinned him under his boot. Then he whistled, and a creature shrouded in darkness came from the shadows.

"I won't kill you. Not...properly," he whispered as the large spider, the size of a dog, began to take the reaper as its prey. It bit him; then started to wrap him up. "But like I said, you _will_ suffer."

Grell cried out and began to struggle, though the spider's venom was quickly rendering his body useless, even his speech slurred; "You jus'wait until I get away from yer pet, Demon!"

Claude jumped back up onto the roof, gathering a few companions. "Sounds like the reaper has a death wish," he purred to them, and then ported instantly to Sebastian's room in his manor. London had been icy and it was much warmer in the chamber with a heated hearth. He removed his jacket and rubbed his arms. Not a drop of blood lost. All in all, a good encounter.

Sebastian was sitting on the edge of his bed, buttoning up his pajama top over his stretched belly. He looked up at Claude with tired eyes when he appeared, but offered a small smile, "Good evening."

Claude knelt faithfully beside him, pushing his wind-blown hair off his forehead. "Yes," he breathed. "I come with sustenance," he said softly, "though it was not as easy to acquire this time…" He brought the soul out, holding it in his palm.

"Reapers?" he asked, leaning over to press a kiss to his lips before taking the soul and looking at it. It always took him a moment to bring himself to consume the souls he had not worked for the right to take. But they did not keep forever, and he ran the risk of it escaping as a ghost, so, he brought the glowing orb to his lips and hesitated before drawing it into his mouth. It was bitter, as most easily stolen souls were, but he ignored the taste. Consuming it as quickly as he could so he wouldn't have to think about how he was taking souls he hadn't earned.

Already, at least, Sebastian looked a little healthier. Claude rubbed his back...Sebastian was very rigid about only taking souls he'd earned the right to. "Taken care of. You're doing well," he said softly, giving him a tender kiss. "Very well." The parasite would respond any time anybody touched Sebastian's stomach. It grew stronger every day, Claude could feel it. "I'll bring you another one tomorrow."

"Thank you…" Sebastian sighed and leaned against his lover, snaking his arms around him, "…Can you stay with me tonight, or do you have plans for the morning?" he asked.

"I will stay," Claude said immediately, gathering Sebastian into his arms and sitting down on the bed, kicking his shoes off. "As long as you like." There was a few kicks where his hands made contact against Sebastian's stomach. "Shh.." he said without thinking, and the kicks ceased.

Sebastian looked down at his stomach, the urge to run his hand along it, to feel the child kick against his hand—no. Abomination. What was he thinking? Urging it? Comforting it?

He forced his thoughts away from it and looked up at his lover, "…Are you still willing to take a look at Bocchan? He's…getting worse…"

"Of course," Claude replied, removing his hands and kissing his neck lightly. He stroked his hair gently, affectionately, knowing Sebastian was suffering. "But you are my top priority, first…"

The crow nodded, slipping his legs under the blankets of his small twin-sized bed and resting his cheek against his lover's chest, his hand automatically falling to set gingerly upon his enlarged stomach, "Claude…what if…" he paused, unable to get Faelan's words out of his head, "…What if I don't want it to be killed once it's finally out of me..?"

"Then, Malphas, I imagine you will be stripped of your status, punished, and the parasite will be killed regardless," Claude replied without skipping a beat. "That's what will happen if you think along those lines." He was staring down at Sebastian now.

"…Thought so…but…what if…we can keep it secret? Find a way to?" he whispered, unknowing that his thumb was caressing gently over his stomach, calming the child within.

"What would you want with—what would you _do_ with a child, Sebastian?" Claude asked incredulously. "Are you saying that's what you want? A child? Or, an heir? Or...a family?"

"…I don't know, but…it's _ours_ , Cimeries…I had never thought of having an heir before…a child…but…this one came to us." He lifted his gaze to Claude's, "Against all odds, it came to us. And today…Bocchan was speaking as if he would be dead soon…And I suddenly felt protective and worried…not because of the contract, but…because at some point…I think I started seeing him as a son… I got a taste of fatherhood…and…" he shook his head, "Sorry…I'm being ridiculous…"

Claude was silent for a long time. "Look...the human body goes through many changes during a pregnancy, including hormonal imbalance. You are likely producing a lot of estrogen. Not to mention, you are currently sharing a symbiotic relation with your parasite, so naturally you feel connected. It will go, once you are free of it." He kissed his forehead. "You'll stop thinking like this, Sebastian... Things will be okay."

"…What if I don't? I already have human emotions because of my illness…And I know those won't go away…" he whispered. "What if it's born…and I try to stop you from killing it?"

Claude went a little cold. Slowly he eased out of Sebastian's arms, shaking his head. "I'm going to take a look at your master," he said, slight distress in his voice as he wheeled around and strode from the room. No, this wasn't good, not at all...this was going to cause terrible problems.

Ciel turned over, trying to get comfortable once more. He had been awoken with another wave of nausea and had barely managed to get his head over his bedside bucket, holding it with shaking hands. He gave off a few weak coughs, trying to ignore the hallucinations the dark room was creating for him. At least, he thought that's what they were…until the door started to open. He lay still, eyes closed as he pretended to be asleep, his shaking fingers gripping the handle of the gun he kept under his pillow.

Claude had made tea, and brought it into Ciel's room. He could practically taste the sickness enshrouding the young master, and it made him want to gag. But at the same time, beneath it...the soul he had craved so badly. Sebastian was brave to trust Claude with Ciel, even if they _were_ lovers. Because Claude adored Ciel; body and soul. The spider knelt beside him slowly. "...Young Master?" he asked softly.

Nope, it wasn't Sebastian. At least, he was sure it wasn't. The voice was familiar, but…it didn't belong to his butler. He pulled out the gun, his arm shaking violently as he pressed the barrel to the intruder's head.

"Now, now..." Claude whispered. "Sebastian has sent me to take a look at you...see what I can do. Why don't you lower that gun, Bocchan...and I'll make you feel...all better..." He reached for the hand holding the gun, and he brought the barrel to his mouth, his long tongue sliding along its length with a little smirk.

"Claude?" he asked in a weakened voice, narrowing his eyes, "…You can't even cure Sebastian." He commented, shoving the gun forward and bucking it up against his teeth.

"Don't make this difficult, I am in no vein to be generous today," he said through gritted teeth. In a second, he'd crushed the gun and dropped the pieces to the ground. "I am just here to help you...and make sure you don't go and die on him."

The boy shrank away from the demon, "…You didn't seem to care much about him loosing me when you tricked me into thinking he killed my parents." He grumbled, "Why are you 'helping' him so much now?"

Claude peeled his sheets back, looking over the boy's damp, feverish body. "..Ah...classic times. But things are different now." He straightened out Ciel's crinkled nightdress. "My, my...haven't you grown...You're almost a man, now..." He passed his hand, glowing yellow, over Ciel's body. Slowly, perhaps suggestively.

"Shut up and just do what Sebastian sent you to do." The boy grumbled, too weak to put forth the effort to smack the perverted demon.

"But I am," he purred. He was searching for the sickness in Ciel's body thoroughly. It took a minute, but he found it. His golden eyes widened a little behind his glasses. "...Damn it..."

"What?" Ciel asked, crossing his arms as he looked at the former Trancy butler, in no mood to be left guessing.

Claude was left speechless for a few seconds. Ciel...had been infected. Aeterna Fames was a disease that mutated to suit its carriers. It changed from the Thorns of Death in shinigami, to Fames in demons, and now...

Now it was steadily killing Ciel; a human who was much weaker than reapers or demons. Sebastian had passed it on, somehow. Bodily fluids? Thorns and Fames weren't contagious to other reapers and demons…but it seemed that because humans were so weak…

"...You're dying, young master Phantomhive," he said bluntly. That was the truth of it.

Ciel's eyes widened; he had had the feeling he was, but he hadn't wanted it to be right. He had wanted to be told it was practically nothing. He swallowed, "…Can you stop it?"

"No. No, I cannot stop it," he said, wiping down his forehead. "Given the circumstances, I truly wish it. You're going to suffer, see...your death won't be instant. Who knows...maybe it'll clear off once more before you relapse again...but it will kill you. Soon. I...am sorry."

Ciel stared at the demon for a long, silent moment, "What is it?" he finally asked, "What is it that you can't cure when Sebastian thinks so highly of your abilities?"

Claude's jaw set and his face twitched a little, as if some part of him really did regret that this child would die. "Does it matter?" he whispered. "I...I must...ask something of you..." He reached for the young man's hand. "...It will help Sebastian. You care about him, don't you? Would you like to help him once, before you die? Just...please do not die yet. Hang in there for just a little while longer."

The young earl frowned, "…For him? How can my 'hanging in there' help him?" his body shook and he pulled the blankets back around himself.

Claude stared at him and closed his eyes, and he explained everything to the dying earl. Everything, so at least he could understand. He helped him sip tea as he talked, to moisten his throat and mouth.

Sebastian would hold on to that baby if he knew Ciel was going to die. He said he felt parental to the boy...it would only be worse if he lost him. He would want a child of his own. Ciel had to try and survive until that mutant was born, and it could be killed. He had to hold on until then, for Sebastian's sake.

That baby couldn't live. It would ruin _everything_.

Ciel studied the demon's face, "…So I'm not just seeing things when he walks in? That strange distortion…that's really because you somehow got him pregnant?" he sighed, looking down at his hands, "…Do you think I can last that long? Long enough for him to let you kill it?"

"Just try. And...whatever you do...do not speak of this with Sebastian. I…will tell him that...its some disease that will keep relapsing, but it will never kill you. And that I have doctors...working on a cure. All I need is a month. One month. That's all that's left." There was definite sincerity in his tone this time.

Ciel nodded, "But, if you two are Lovers…then, won't your relationship be put in danger once I do die, when you told him I won't?" he asked, "…He's proven a disappointment…not being as perfect as he pretended to be, but…I have grown fond of him, and while I don't have much time left, I think I want him to be happy. And if you are the thing that can do that, I don't want you risking that."

Claude turned away and sipped at the tea. "I don't know much about love, to be honest. But the punishment for keeping that child would be severe. Sebastian may leave me, yes. But he needs me to quell his illness. And if I can at least help him like that, well...that...I'm fine with that. Because I...love him."

"Then, for him…I'll try not to die before that thing inside him is gone." Ciel nodded, just promise me you won't give up on his cure…let him be the perfect demon I had known him to be."

"Nothing else to do in my life," Claude remarked, letting his hand glow to temporarily relieve all his symptoms. And then he was gone, leaving Ciel and Sebastian alone. He had to take time to breathe...he'd never been faced with difficult decisions like this before. And he was afraid if he spoke to Sebastian again, he would lose his composure.

* * *

To be continued...


	21. Chapter 21

As the days passed by; Sebastian grew weaker. His body, even with the stolen souls, falling into malnutrition. He began to rapidly loose weight, bags forming under his eyes, his ribs starting to show through his skin, his handsome face growing sickly. He slept nearly all day and night, yet when he was awake, he felt tired; ready to pass out at any moment.

The household servants, excluding Faelan, had been sent away, being told that there was an illness in the house and that Ciel hadn't wanted it to spread amongst the entire household. It had taken quite a bit of persuading, as the incompetent staff members were loyal; but Sebastian's sickly look was enough to convince them into taking the offered holiday.

Sebastian was often left alone in his room, lost in his thoughts when he wasn't fast asleep, growing more attached to the child he carried. He wouldn't admit it, but he had even started thinking of names for the little abomination.

Of course, Aeterna Fames had not lessoned up on him just because of his condition; his attacks taking advantage of his inability to keep up his spiritual and physical energy. On average, he was having three attacks each week; causing the need for Claude to set up a work station in Sebastian's room so he could be treated faster.

But he wasn't the only member in the house who was under Claude's care. Ciel had gotten better again, but relapsed once more. His body trembling, unable to keep warm. And this time, he found he was sometimes coughing up blood, though that detail was kept secret from Sebastian along with the truth of the situation. Sebastian had smelled the blood at first, but he had been assured that Ciel had just been clumsy with his dinner knife. And soon after, in his weakness, the butler began to loose his otherworldly senses. No longer able to smell Ciel's blood.

But he could still feel Ciel's distress through their contract, and one evening while Claude was out, it all grew to be too much for the crow. He hated only hearing of his young master's condition, so, despite knowing he needed all the energy he could get so the child inside him wouldn't kill him, he lifted his hand, studying his contract and letting his eyes glow faintly as he activated the portal within the contract that took him straight to his master's side; appearing on wobbling legs at the boy's bedside and reaching out to catch his balance on the bedpost before lowering himself into the chair that was conveniently nearby. He sat there, breathing hard for a moment before turning his attention to the boy sleeping soundly on the bed; looking just as sick as Sebastian felt.

Ciel had little contact with Sebastian for the last month. Faelan had attended to him most of the time, and he knew it was because Sebastian was only growing sicklier. He'd gotten better. There was a little scare about halfway through the month after he'd had a fever, but it had been nothing.

But it recently had hit him hard. All sorts of terrible symptoms, vomiting, bleeding, fever, hallucinations. He had a feeling that this was it. It was the end time. But he'd made a promise to Claude Faustus. For Sebastian's sake...he'd live as long as he could.

He cracked an eye open when Sebastian portaled into his room with a ruffle of clothing. He hadn't expected him at all. "...Sebastian?"

"…My Lord." The butler greeted, reaching forward to brush his hair out of the boy's face, "…You don't look all that well, sir."

Ciel shrugged lightly. "I could...say the same for you, Sebastian," he muttered. "But I'm going to be okay. ...You knew what Claude Faustus said, after all...I'm always going to get better, and he is...looking very hard for a cure."

Sebastian nodded, leaning back in his chair, still trying to catch his breath, "…How much did he tell you about my condition?" he asked in a tired voice. He had known Claude had said something, but he hadn't pried when he was still able to move around and tend to his duties.

Ciel closed his eyes. "I know about your...'parasite'," he called it. "A child." He forced a little smile onto his face. "You'd better have a...damn ...baby-sitter, Sebastian. How do you expect to work...for me...with a child on your hip..." He didn't mention anything about killing it. He couldn't bring himself to.

The demon gave a weak chuckle, "…If it doesn't kill me first…I feel like death itself at times…" he gave a small, fond smile and reached out to cup the boys cheek, "Sir, If I may speak freely?"

Ciel nodded. "...mm…hhh..." More sweat ran down his forehead. "Um...can you put that cloth on, too...?" he whispered.

Sebastian nodded and dipped the cloth in the basin of water, dabbing it on his master's forehead a few times in silence. He didn't know why, be he had the growing feeling that this may be the last time he'd have to care for the boy. He set the cloth aside and used more of his limited energy to move onto the edge of the bed, gathering the boy into his arms in a shaky, but comforting embrace, "…Claude says you'll survive whatever it is you have…and that he will make sure I live through carrying this child of ours…but…I feel the need to tell you…Even though you were such an annoying spoiled brat when I first contracted with you…I've grown to see you as a son…" he said in a low whisper, "…And, I love you, Ciel."

Ciel stared at him for a long moment, then a shaky smile appeared on his face.

"Wow, Sebastian...you really must be sick," he breathed, but there were tears coming to his eyes. "You silly, sentimental demon..." He bit his lip so he wouldn't cry and clung tightly to Sebastian. Even if he wouldn't say it aloud...even now...he cared for him, "Don't t-talk like that...I'm going to be fine...really...and I'm still a spoiled brat," he said with a little chuckle. "You have spoiled me, Sebastian. You have." He continued to hug him, with more warmth than either of them had ever shown each other.

Sebastian chuckled again, "…What kind of…father figure would I be if I could not at least do that?" he murmured into his ear. "And maybe I am being sentimental, maybe it is because of my current condition…but it's true."

The demon pressed a light kiss into the boy's hair, "Heh, and now look, I've gone and upset you in your own sickness…" he took the damp cloth and used it to wipe a stray tear from his face, "I'm sorry for that, Bocchan."

"I'm not upset," Ciel whispered. "...I'm actually happy." He held the hand close to his chest for a bit. "You have been the closest thing to a parental figure I've ever had...you devilish fiend. I have appreciated all that you've done." He was silent for a long minute before adding quietly, "and since you're talking as _if_ I was going to die...I think you should know that if I did...you have...served me well. Genuinely risked your life for mine. I would have you take my soul regardless."

"Forgive me, my lord." He chuckled, "I did not mean to make it seem I thought you were dying. Though I do with I knew what it was that ails you…I dislike knowing that you are suffering…even if it is not fatal…"

"The same applies to you," Ciel muttered drowsily. He couldn't help hugging the demon once more. "I hope you'll...take care of yourself, Sebastian...Now go...you...you should be resting."

"…I'm not sure I have the strength to port back…" he frowned, letting go of Ciel and tucking him in once more, "Think I can walk back before Claude finds out?" he smirked.

"It's an order," Ciel whispered with a wry smile back, "I know you will not fail me." He looked up at his butler. "You're one hell of a butler, after all."

Sebastian stood, leaning on the post as he placed his hand over his heart with a weak bow; "Yes, my lord." His lips twitched upwards and he slowly began to move along the walls to the door, needing to stop to take a breather once he reached the Hall.

Ciel stared at the ceiling when the door closed and he was left alone. He smiled faintly, then started to weep softly. He knew in his heart that it would be the last time he spoke to Sebastian. He knew he was going to die, and he didn't want to. Not yet.

Normally, it took Sebastian less than a minute to walk from Ciel's room to his own, despite the fact that the rooms were located at opposite sides of the manor. But this time it took him nearly twenty minutes to make it to his own room, needing to take breaks as he went. He pushed open his door and managed to take the few steps to his bed, letting himself collapse onto it, curling up on his side.

Claude could feel great physical stress on Sebastan's part, as well as Ciel's life force slowly beginning to fade. The demon hurried over with a fresh soul, concerned that something bad was happening. He entered Sebastian's room to see him, weak, pale and emaciated.

Groaning, Sebastian opened his eyes again, looking up at his lover with a small smile, "…Evening, Claude."

"...You've been up," he murmured. "Why? You were supposed to call if you needed my assistance." He approached, looking at the size of his belly at this point. ...Any day now.

"…Just a little…I needed to stretch my legs. And you were gone all day I figured you were busy with important business…" he said. It wasn't entirely a lie. He did often get the urge to get up and move. But usually it was just around the room, and Claude was usually there to act as a crutch.

"What part of doctor's orders do you fail to understand?" Claude asked concernedly. "You look terrible. Honestly, Sebastian. Even if it's just for the bathroom, you know you're supposed to let me help you get there." He unbuttoned Sebastian's shirt, looking over the large swelling in comparison to his malnourished chest. He shook his head with a sigh.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered, looking down at his belly, reaching down to run his hand over it, "I didn't go too far…" it only felt like he had. "…I won't do it again."

"Good," Claude replied. "Here. I brought you food." He'd only planned to give him one soul, but seeing how weak Sebastian looked, he brought out the other two he'd kept stored in special boxes they couldn't escape from. Lately the souls didn't have quite as much of an effect, either. He just hoped he could survive a little longer.

Sebastian groaned, moving to push himself up, but finding the way his weight was distributed, he couldn't simply sit up to accept the stolen meals. Sighing, he hooked a finger around Claude's slender fingers, "…Could you help me to sit up?"

Claude did so without comment. It was disconcerting to see the proud Malphas in such a state. "It won't be long now," he whispered, handing him the first soul. "Soon you'll be okay. Soon..."

Sebastian nodded, struggling to even draw the soul in at a normal speed; consuming it slowly and barely noticing an increase of energy. "…And you'll…kill it…" he muttered once he was finally finished with the soul.

Sebastian didn't look any better, and Claude brought forth the second soul quickly. "Yes, Malphas. For all our sakes." He moved the soul close to the demon's mouth and watched it start to be drawn in.

A sad look dulled the crown usually bright eyes at the thought. He knew it would be best to drop the topic, to forget about keeping the child. He knew it only made Claude worry more. However, he hated the idea of killing something that was half his lover—that had literally been a part of him for three long months.

Claude looked down as he made his lover consume the second soul. "Is it something you would have wanted with me? A child?" he asked as he started to unlock the box for the third and final soul. He was looking just a bit better now.

"…I hadn't thought of it before…but…now that its happening—against all odds…" he looked up at Claude, "…It's our child, Cimeries. It's half of us both."

"You think people like us can raise children?" Claude asked. "Be parents? Be family? I just...I don't see it. I..." He shook his head again.

"…We have both served masters who were children…sure, it's not exactly the same, but…I believe we could…if we can keep him or her a secret…" he whispered, shifting ever so slightly so that he was leaning against Claude's shoulder.

Claude couldn't believe they were even discussing this. He offered the last soul, and it went straight down the hatch. Thankfully Sebastian looked just a little stronger...but not much. "...what do you wish it is? A male, or a female? Heir to your royal lineage, of course..."

The crow shook his head, "You know I don't think much about my status. And…I wouldn't care if we have a son or daughter, I've thought of names for both…" he trailed off, a weak flush of color staining his cheeks.

"...I had many brothers, as you know. I'd prefer...I mean...if I had to...a male. Of course, my preference won't make a difference." He touched his stomach lightly. "It gives off a masculine vibe though."

"I thought so too…" he moved his hand over Claude's, holding it over his stomach, "But…my mother had thought I gave a feminine vibe and was wrong. I didn't trust my own judgment on the matter."

Claude frowned as his hand was held there. "...Hn...Shall I stay with you, tonight?" he asked. He didn't like the way Ciel's life-force seemed to be growing weaker and weaker. "Both of you could use some help. Your little albino can't be of help in the ways that I can."

"Yes, stay." He paused, lifting his gaze, "I don't like what I'm feeling through our contract…I know you said he'll be fine…but it's somewhat alarming how distressed he feels…"

Claude lay Sebastian down on his bed, stroking his hair tenderly. "I know it is difficult right now. But it will be okay. What you need to do...is rest now, and keep up your strength...it's almost over. And I think I may be honing in on a cure for the young master," he lied fluently. "Hang in there."

"You've been working so hard for me and my master…" the sickly demon breathed, "…Once I'm better again—Once Bocchan's better…I'll make it all up to you."

Claude leaned in and kissed his head. "You needn't. I do this because I care for you. Now _rest_." He touched his cheek; more thin than usual. Christ, Ciel was dying. He could feel it. He had to try and stave it off as long as possible...the baby was going to be born very soon.

Sebastian turned his head into his lover's touch, his heavy eyes closing. He hadn't even noticed how much he had been fighting off sleep until that moment. Drifting off as soon as they were closed. His fingers feebly curled around the hem of Claude's jacket.

Claude gently detached Sebastian's hand, pulling the blankets up, and then he was up to Ciel's room in an instant. The boy seemed to know why he was there. His time had almost come.

Claude sat at his side. "...Sebastian is asleep now," he said softly, noticing blood on the front of Ciel's gown, and his mouth.

Ciel gave a small nod, "How is he doing?" he asked, He knew his butler hadn't looked well at all when he had come to visit him, but he was more concerned on how long it'd take before the baby was born…and if he could, himself, survive that long. "How soon..?"

Claude began to clean him up a little. "...Tomorrow? The next day? You're doing very well," he said, passing the yellow glow over him...but this time the symptoms wouldn't fade. "Please, you must last a little longer." There was faint urgency in his tone.

"…He's still wanting to keep it…isn't he?" he asked, rubbing his chin when he realized he must have blood on it again and hadn't cleaned it properly. He had been amazed Sebastian hadn't noticed the bucket of blood and vomit Ciel kept close. But then again, the demon had his own problems, and was under the impression that Ciel would be just fine. The thought made tears sting his eyes, but he forced them back.

Claude grit his teeth. "The souls aren't working," he said in a tight voice. "He's dying. And right now...I'm honestly more concerned about what the news of your death will do to him if you die now. The grief...it might be too much. He might ...actually die..."

He spoke as if his words could convince Ciel to stop dying. But they couldn't. Even as he spoke...the light of life in this boy grew dimmer.

"…But…if I can't make it…if I do die first…Would my soul help him? Even without my revenge…I…I want him to have it." The tears pooled in his eyes, "Don't…let him die…"

Claude assured him that he simply couldn't let Sebastian die. Everything that _could_ be done for Ciel had been...but Sebastian had a chance. The demon sat with Ciel a while. Perhaps an hour. When the boy started coughing blood, Claude knew he wouldn't last much longer. He held the young man's hand, too...Sebastian wouldn't have wanted Ciel to be scared or uncomfortable. "Sebastian...he genuinely cares for you. I…have not been familiar with that before. Not with a demon caring for their master. It is...rather unique..."

Ciel continued to cough, blood covering his chin all over again, "I treated him as a tool…and still he…" he was interrupted again by his coughing, his entire body trembling as he began to gag on blood, tears flowing down his cheeks. He didn't want to go. Not yet…not like this…

Claude stood by, wiping his blood away faithfully. "Shh..." He had been silently steeling himself over the last hour that Ciel was dying. His plan wasn't going to work. Again he tried to stave off his symptoms, but nothing worked now. He stroked Ciel's hair tenderly. "...It's going to be alright. It will be over soon." His golden eyes watched Ciel starting to choke on his blood, and he squeezed his hand tighter. "It's going to be okay."

Ciel looked up at him, his eyes swimming and making the demon blur to a dark figure. He had always thought the last person he'd see would be Sebastian…not Claude. He gasped for enough air to speak between his fits of coughing and choking, "I'm…s-sorry…"

Why...why was this death painful? Ciel was suffering terribly now. He could hear him struggling feebly for life, choking, and Claude could do nothing. It was too much.

"You did good," he whispered, his eyes starting to prickle. "I'm going to make it okay now, Ciel Phantomhive." He reached forward, resting his hand on Ciel's forehead and looked him in the eyes. "You're not going to hurt anymore."

Then he snapped his neck.

* * *

To be continued...


	22. Chapter 22

Claude stood a moment, holding Ciel's soul carefully in his hand, looking at the glowing orb so perfect, so delicious… It was even more tempting now than it had been when still residing within the mortal body of Ciel Phantomhive. His gaze flickered back to the boy's lifeless body, deathly pale against the wrinkled sheets.

"I think I've seen everything." A voice with a light Scottish accent cut through the deathly silence. Eric Slingby had found Ciel Phantomhive's name on his to-die list and had slipped into the manor, making his way to Ciel's room and stood in the darkness as he waited for the boy's sickness to take him. He had overheard the demon and the boy talking, though he hadn't been there the whole time. But what he could gather was that there were two demons, and the one in the room was not the contract holder.

"A demon seeming so caring to a soul he did not earn even upon his death." He stepped out of the shadows, looking down his nose at the demon, his saw resting on his shoulder, "As it's not yers through contract, I expect you'll be handin' it over to be dealt with properly?"

Claude stared at the still body for a long minute, before he glanced up. "No. This soul is going to the demon who has earned it. It would be...appreciated...if you could not interfere." He steeled himself over quickly, takinging Ciel's lifeless body and drawing it in protectively.

Eric arched an eyebrow, "Why are you so keen on delivering it to another? Why is that demon not here?" he questioned, his grip tightening on the handle of his scythe. All he needed to do was to cut into the boy's body to release his records and collect his soul.

"He is unable to come here presently and take it," Claude explained. Normally he wouldn't have given the man the time of day, but he didn't want a fight right now. "He is ill. I must do this for him." His golden eyes stared emotionlessly at the reaper.

Eric's grip faltered…he recognized the look in the demon's eyes. True, his face was as ice…but his eyes held something more…the same look his own held. "'Ill'?" he inquired.

"Surely you sense him here," Claude responded. "And if you do not, I would say that is because his life force is about as diminished as this dead boy I hold right now. He _needs_ his master's soul. I will deliver it to him…no matter what."

"…Why?" The reaper couldn't believe he was asking and not doing his job properly, "Why do you care? Why is he nearly dead? I realize it isn't my place but…" he stepped closer, lowering his scythe to his side to show he was not about to attack, looking straight into the demon's golden eyes, "…You hide it, but you hold the look…of someone in love with someone who is dyin' of somethin' incurable…"

"I don't suppose you've heard of the Thorns of Death," Claude responded. "But it is essentially a mutated version. And you have good eyes. Though yes, it is not your place to ask...there is a prince... _my lover_...who desperately needs this soul."

Eric's eyes widened and he turned, looking down, "…Take it to him, then…" he looked up at him once more, "I know what it's like…to love one infected with Thorns…My own Lover suffers it's effects…" he turned walking towards the door, "…I know how it is to do anything to save him. My own sins and crimes…go deep into a darkness Reapers should not know. Yer demons…but I can't stop a man in the same pain as I trying to save his light…"

Claude held Ciel close, shaking his head. There was no reason the reaper should have had to explain that to him. "Hn. Isn't that a coincidence," he asked, his eyes flicking upwards for a minute. "I assume you will continue...doing whatever is necessary for your own. Farewell, reaper."

He simply left after that, carrying Ciel's body down to Sebastian, knowing that this could be the end of their relationship.

Sebastian's peaceful sleep had abruptly been interrupted, a painful throbbing in his contract yanking him from his dreams. He had sat up, clutching his hand as waves of pain started assaulting his body, a deep burning rippling up his arm and into his torso. He cried out in pain, tears prickling his eyes and steaming down his face.

"B-Bocchan…" gasping, he tried to stand up as he felt the link between them fading as Ciel died, succeeding in collapsing onto the floor, "Claude! C-Ciel…he..!" and then, his master was gone. His contract glowing red as it began to break up, the coloring running up his arm, causing him even more pain as he was punished, the contract seeking to kill him for allowing it to go void. It began to drain his energy to turn it against him. He could feel his child inside him squirming around, kicking and clawing at his insides.

Panting, he lay twisted on the floor, screaming as he took his punishment. The burning black goop bubbled up within him and he retched it up, his lips burning as blood started to mix with the black. His entire body began to shake violently.

And then, it was over. His energy fully drained between his punishment and his child, he lay deathly still on the floor, barely able to keep his eyes open, feeling only the pain from the baby's movements within him.

Claude had hurried over the second he was done with his dealings from the reaper. He had felt Sebastian's distress keenly through the blood bond, shaking his composure deeply. And then he'd felt his agony...the contract turning on him. Claude was thankful for the second time in as many minutes. Thankful that he was a decent man of medicine, who could stop it. Save him.

He ran into Sebastian's room, dropping to his side in a clean spot. The demon checked to see Sebastian was still alive. He didn't have a pulse. Claude lay Ciel down and quickly drew his soul out. "Malphas...Malphas, wake up."

It felt like it took all the strength he had to shift his dulled eyes to look up at Claude, showing he was still clinging to life, tears still flowing down into his hair. His breath weak and barely there.

"I'm going to give you this soul now," Claude said gently. "The soul of Ciel Phantomhive. This will work wonders for you, I promise." He brought the soul closer to his mouth. "Open up, love…"

It took him nearly a full minute just to open his mouth, but not to accept the soul, "…Ciel…" he wanted to say more, but the words were too hard to say. He adverted his gaze and let his head fall to the side, No, he hadn't earned the soul…Ciel couldn't be dead…he could still be saved, he had to.

Claude sighed. "That's okay...I had assumed you would be difficult..." He turned Sebastian's head upwards and forced his mouth open. He raised the soul to his mouth once more, ready to push it down.

Sebastian's tears increased as he tasted Ciel's sweet, perfect soul. Innocence dipped in layers of sin. He tried to turn away, but found the task impossible. He could do nothing but let his instincts take over. His eyes glowed weakly as he let his body greedily coax the soul over his tongue and into his body, his strength returning and the child calming.

Claude didn't relent as he forced the soul of Ciel down his throat. He didn't stop until it was completely consumed. Only then did he gather Sebastian into his arms, and wipe his eyes off. "It's alright. I'm sorry this happened," he said rather earnestly. "At least your disease has been staved off for a long time. Isn't that nice? Things are going to be okay now."

"…You said he was fine…you said he wouldn't die…" he sobbed in a cracked voice, his arms wrapped around his lover in mourning, "What…what happened?"

"Well, Sebastian, he died," Claude replied, holding him close to his chest. "There was nothing I could do for his illness in time. It is...truly regrettable." Sebastian, though he was grieving, looked much healthier physically. Ciel's soul had a lot of power, and he wouldn't have attacks for a long time. The spider was actually in rather good spirits, despite his lover. Have the child, kill it; Sebastian is attack free _and_ contract free. They could be comfortably together after this.

"…You lied…" he sobbed, wanting to cling to Claude more, and push him away at the same time, "H-he…he knew he was going…and said nothing… 'get a babysitter'…he told me to get a babysitter while I served him…"

Claude didn't care to keep secrets from Sebastian. He picked him up and set him down on the bed, wrapping him in blankets. "I didn't lie just now. He is dead, and that's regrettable. …You...had to think he was going to live...you mightn't have had the strength to survive the pregnancy otherwise...But in truth, the first time I looked at him...I knew he was going to die."

"You…couldn't save him?" his gaze fell to Ciel's bloodstained body on the floor, reaching out a hand towards him, "Ciel…" he looked up at the other demon, "Claude…please…"

"Please what?" Claude asked, and there was slight faltering in his tone as he felt Sebastian's devastation through their bond. "It's done. His soul is gone. And believe me, Sebastian...I would have saved him if there was any way to...I wanted him to live as badly as you did."

"Then…let me hold him…I couldn't be there for him…I failed him…" he choked out, leaning against his pillows, "I need to…one last time…"

Claude obliged, taking Ciel into his arms and handing his stiffening body to Sebastian.

He wasn't sure he had the heart to tell him that it was Sebastian himself who had infected Ciel. He honestly, for once, didn't think he could...it could cripple his lover.

Sebastian held the boy to him, "Bocchan…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" he cried, his tears dropping onto the emotionless face of the young earl, "You're such a brat…letting me think you would be fine…You were suffering, you—" his words got caught in his throat and he held his body tighter.

Claude just averted his eyes. "Sebas..." He sighed deeply. "Okay. I failed him. I failed _you_. I cannot leave right now...you may not be stable. But I will...leave you in private if you desire."

"Please…I…" Sebastian couldn't bring himself to look away from Ciel, "…I can't handle these emotions…Give me…just a little time…"

Claude stood up. "Yes. Right. I've got some...thing I need to do, anyway," he said under his breath, and after giving him one last glance, walked from the room, head bowed.

He went to his station in Sebastian's private study, getting ready to prepare some medicine for him. The worst part was that Sebastian was grieving so heavily. He didn't think he'd ever seen him like this before.

Sebastian continued to hold Ciel to him, apologizing over and over for his failures to his master, and reliving some of their more fond memories. He felt so…human. But it helped. "Goodnight…my son." He whispered when he felt sleep taking him once more. He lay Ciel on the bed next to him, tucking him in as if the boy was only sleeping, before getting up to move to the chair Claude used to sit by his bedside, falling asleep in it, tears still clinging to his cheeks.

Claude paced. Try and trigger labor, or wait until Sebastian was in a better mindset? He didn't know. His mind went over the pros and cons of both options. He gave up on the inner debate after giving Sebastian an hour or so, and returned to his room. He immediately looked down after seeing the way Sebastian had tucked in the boy—he truly cared for him as a son. How…unique.

In his sleep, Sebastian shivered and pulled his pajama top tighter around himself, giving off a small whimper.

Claude drew a deep breath and sighed. "Malphas, wake up." He nudged him gently. "Come on...you have to take some medicine, now...Open your eyes."

Sebastian slowly opened his still-wet eyes, turning them up onto Claude, "All right…" he agreed. He hadn't been sleeping too deep, and had heard his lover's words clearly. He tried not to look at the bed, not wanting the pain to come crashing down on his heart all over again.

Claude had a goblet filled something that could soothe the burning and heal the damage to Sebastian's insides. His hands shook as he went to administer it, however...he'd been quite shaken by Sebastian's reaction to Ciel's death.

He almost...couldn't bear to tell him the child had to be killed.

"Look...soon…very soon...you'll go into labor. Your water will break, and that poison will drain away. We can relieve you of your problem, soon."

The crow nodded, licking the medication from his lips before speaking. "I know…I can feel him strengthening…and he's staying calm…" he ran his hand over his stomach fondly.

"I'm going to take Ciel away now," Claude said quietly. "He could pose a risk, somehow…You surely understand." He drew the blankets back from Ciel's bed and gathered the body up.

Sebastian nodded, "Please…take him to the local undertaker for a proper burial…" he whispered, reaching out to the ring he had slipped so many times onto the boy's thumb, taking it off him and looking at it. It should be buried with him, but, somehow, Sebastian felt he needed to keep it. He needed to keep something of the boy. Never before had he felt such a need after a master departed…but Ciel was different in many ways.

Claude left after that. He wasn't sure how to be comforting to Sebastian. He wasn't used to such things. So he disappeared, taking Ciel's body to the Undertaker. The man didn't seem surprised about Ciel's death. Claude seemed to sense he was a reaper. There was little enquiry on each other's part...the man was delighted to have Ciel's cadaver, having just prepared a lovely, ornate, child-sized coffin, and Claude was glad to hand him over, so the business was done and they parted ways quickly.

He stayed in the manor for the rest of the night, writing death notices. He did not speak to Faelan, who was posted by Sebastian to watch over him.

Sebastian had moved back into his bed, Ciel's ring held tightly in his hand all through the night. With a moan, he stretched out as he awoke, feeling like he had a closer to normal amount of energy, and the lack of his illness threatening to pull him into another attack. Though he still felt incredibly weak. His body weight was somewhat returning to normal. It was noticeable, but not complete. He opened his eyes and let out a sigh. He couldn't keep mourning his late master as he had the night before. He had to move on. He had Claude, and soon…he'd have a child, a son that was truly his own. One not doomed to die, to be consumed after a mortal life.

Faelan was by his side as he awoke, bearing tea and water. "Master," he breathed, faithfully kneeling down to him. "How are you feeling?"

"Physically? Better…sort of…" he mumbled, reaching out for the cup of tea, "Thank you." He took a few sips before continuing, "Mentally…I may be worse than ever…but I'll get past it…"

Faelan nodded. "You're looking better than you have in a month. This is good. But ...I am...terribly sorry about the young master Phantomhive's death," he said truthfully. "But...you could still have a child of your own. Maybe today is the day, and...something tells me...you really do not wish to kill it."

"I haven't…in a long time…he's been a part of me…he's half Claude's…he was created by out Lo—our passion." He corrected himself, not wanting to admit to the young demon their true feelings. But then a frown tugged his lips, "But he still wishes to kill him…"

Faelan shook his head. "It doesn't have to be this way," he said softly. "I truly hope that you won't kill it. There needn't be any more untimely deaths." With Sebastian's breakfast beside him, he gave him a courteous nod and excused himself from the room.

Sebastian watched the albino leave before looking down at his breakfast tray loaded up with the things he usually had cravings for, along with some items Claude had said would help him along where souls couldn't. He picked up the fork and knife to start eating. He had to have another talk with Claude about the baby's fate…and soon.

Claude definitely made sure that Sebastian kept eating. The demon wouldn't be starving for souls for a long time, as he had consumed many. But it was good for his body to eat something, even human food.

He stopped by around lunchtime with some books Sebastian could read, as well as a hearty lunch and tea for him to consume. "Hello," he said as he entered. "I hope you are feeling better today?"

Sebastian looked up at him, and moved himself up the pillows supporting him a little more, setting aside Ciel's ring which he had been looking at, "…Better…I don't feel Aeterna Fames nearly as much…and I have more energy to share between the child and myself. But still…weak."

"You will recover your strength soon," Claude said gently. He put the books down and sat beside him. "You should eat this, though," he said, offering the meal.

The demon nodded, placing the tray alongside him, as his belly made it difficult to place it across his lap comfortably. Picking up the fork and knife he glanced up at Claude, "…Could you sit and stay for a while? We need to talk…about our baby."

Claude immediately looked a little hesitant. 'Our baby'? Clearly it had stopped being 'the parasite' to Sebastian a long time ago. "Very well," he said, unwrapping a sandwich he had brought and starting to eat it. Being so exposed to souls left him eating a lot more lately. "Have you been feeling kicks, perhaps? Small contractions, even?"

"Yes…for the last hour or so…nothing big, though. But that's not we need to talk about, Cimeries…we need to discuss his fate…before we do something to him we'll regret for eternity."

"Malphas," Claude said softly, "there is nothing to discuss. I'll tell you what we'll regret for eternity, and that's being stripped of our statuses...locked up, and tortured. We'll regret _that_ for eternity, let me tell you."

"But he's _our_ child. Most likely the only one either of us will ever have…He's…" he paused, lowering his voice in case Faelan was near, "He was made by our love…we can't just kill that." His voice faltered, the small contraptions he had been having, small enough to be ignored growing to a painful level. But they needed to talk…he had to push the conversation along. "Would it be horrible to have a son?"

"You are _grieving_ for your lost little master," Claude said in a firmer tone. "You seek to replace him with this child, but it will not be the same. You must understand that. Would you condemn us all for your mourning, come about only by the presence of a fatal disease?"

"I'm not trying to replace Ciel! I wanted to keep this child before…I even spoke to Ciel about it. I mourn him, yes…but what kind of father would I be if I let his memory overshadow that of my own flesh and blood? Claude, I—Ahhgh…" he gasped, dropping his fork and knife in order to press his hands to his belly as another wave of pain hit so hard it made his eye swim.

Claude shook his head, staring down at him. "...More contractions?" he asked flatly.

The demon nodded, breathing hard, "Please…we can't kill him…there has to be another way…" he gasped.

Claude took Sebastian's hand. "Look...I…love you. But I do not love that child. And I owe it nothing, not even life. And this is for the best...I promise...I mean...if it didn't have to be the way it is, maybe I'd think differently about it, but it doesn't, and I _can't_."

"Bu—ARHGH!" his head fell back against the pillows, "Cl-Claude… he…He's coming…"

"No, I'd be able to tell if he was," Claude replied calmly. "It's only contractions." He squeezed the pale hand in his own. "It's alright."

Normally, pain was something Sebastian could deal with when it wasn't a contract punishment, but since the later stages of his pregnancy, he had become more sensitive to pain. "H-Hurts…" he whimpered, pulling Claude closer.

"Look, the fact of the matter is that I can't operate on you until your water breaks, because that is essentially the very fluid I risk poisoning you with. I can't do anything until that happens, Sebastian. I'm sorry."

He could see Sebastian was in pain though, and he wished there was something he could do.

The time ticked by, seconds feeling like minutes to the pained demon as the waves of pain grew closer together and lasted longer; too much pain to keep up their conversation. Claude sat at his side, stroking his hand. Sebastian _might_ have been going into labor, but there really was nothing he could do until that fluid drained.

And then, finally, there was a higher spike in the pain and he suddenly felt a wave of moisture he held no control over rush down and soaking his pajamas and his bed. Sebastian was horrified at first; thinking he had wet himself; until the strong scent of poison started filling the air.

It was confirmed; his water broke finally. The spider demon gave a shaky exhale…now came the hard part.

"Alright. Its okay, Sebastian," he murmured after a minute, taking hold of his lover and rushing him to the room he'd set up for operation.

"Nngh…" The crow clung to his lover as he was moved, biting down hard on his lip and drawing blood as he fought against the pain. He lay back against the pillows once he was set back down, his hands clutching his stomach as the child moved, trying to find a way out. Kicking and scratching at Sebastian's inner walls.

Claude gave Sebastian a single kiss on the forehead as he quickly took his sterile surgical instruments and swabbed his stomach over like he had the first time. "It's going to be okay," he said gently, taking the scalpel and pressing it straight to his stomach.

With that, he opened a flawless seam up in Sebastian's stomach, revealing the blood-soaked little monster. He stared down at it for a minute before cutting the umbilical cord and pulling it out of the agonized young prince.

Sebastian was finally able to relax without the baby boy inside him, trying to force his way out. Only the pain of being cut open so deeply was left; and he had suffered worse physical wounds a few stitches, demonic saliva, and a day or two to heal would take care of it. Panting, he looked at Claude, holding the child, and slowly, he held out his own hands to receive the boy. Wondering if his lover would at least grant him that much.

The crow knew he couldn't fight Claude on the issue any longer. He lacked the strength to do anything but lay in bed.

Claude stared at him for a minute, then he supposed...just for a minute. He toweled the child off, giving it a little look. Male, like he'd predicted. Tiny little black nails...dark hair that looked a little more Claude's color? The boy's eyes were closed, but it was whining and crying a little...clearly alive. He handed it to Sebastian and got to work on stitching him back up.

Glad to be given the chance to at least hold their living child, Sebastian drew the boy to his chest, holding him protectively as he looked down at the chubby face of the new princely heir.

He couldn't help it. He cracked a smile and planted a soft, small kiss to the dark hair that still smelled of blood. Almost immediately, the baby's fussing quieted, and his tiny fingers curled around Sebastian's finger.

Claude happened to glance up as he was finishing the stitches. He saw how earnestly happy Sebastian was with the baby, and he shook his head. He put his tools away and discarded the bloody gloves, and then he stepped forward. "...Sebastian..." he mumbled with an unreadable expression.

The crow nearly flinched. No, so soon? But he had only just started to hold him. In his mind, he had already chosen the perfect 'human' name. His Demonic name would come during a ritual…a ritual the boy would never have. But, a human name…

Elijah…

Sebastian slowly looked up from the boy's face to look at Claude, "…Must I loose two sons within twenty-four hours?" he whispered.

Claude looked at him despairingly. He'd known this would happen. But some part of him knew that even if Ciel had survived, Sebastian couldn't have given up this baby.

"Please don't make this more difficult than it has to be," he said stiffly. "...That child can't live. It is not supposed to exist."

"I can't…Claude, I can't kill Elijah…" he whispered, pulling the towel the baby was wrapped in tighter around him to keep him warm.

"Eli-" Claude's golden eyes fell upon the little bundle in Sebastian's arms. "No. No. I'll do it," he said, and reached for one chubby little arm.

Sebastian was reluctant to give him up, turning to pull the baby away from Claude's reach, "Gently… if…if you are going to do it… be gentle…kind…don't…let him feel pain…" he nearly sobbed, tears gathering again in his eyes.

"I won't make him suffer. I'll make it quick and painless...like I did with your little master," he whispered, and gathered the baby into his arms. He'd probably do it out of Sebastian's sight, too...

Sebastian squeezed his eyes closed, after Elijah was taken from him, his arms feeling incredibly empty, tears escaping from between his eyelids.

Claude was right, after all. A baby would ruin everything…it was best if he was gone…

But…

Sebastian was having a hard time focusing on that fact.

The spider demon's eyes lingered on Sebastian, weeping again. The child in his arms was just learning how to move, and it grabbed a hold of his sleeve, distracting him. He'd just snap its neck, the same way he'd done with Ciel.

And yet...and yet...he'd never felt so torn up about a decision in his entire life. Claude Faustus had never _really_ mourned anybody's death, yet he had for Ciel, in a tiny way. He'd never felt true guilt or regret or ever been torn up over whether or not to kill a child.

And now he was.

And it was overwhelming.

The crow demon turned away, trembling as he forced himself to speak again, "Best do it…qu-quickly…before I can stop you if I loose control…

It was...it was due to...their blood bond, surely...imbuing him with the disease known as emotion. "You'd stop me if you could?" he asked, closing his eyes as he felt the child's grip on his sleeve grow tighter. He was trembling suddenly, and he looked down at Sebastian. "You truly want this child to live?"

"He came to us…against all odds…He trusts us…and you want to end him before he gets to have a chance?" he whispered, "I know…it's wrong…to keep an abomination…but…but _look_ at him, Claude! He's just an infant…he's harmless…innocent…the exact same as you or I when we were born… So, yes, I think I would stop you. I can't blame you for it if you succeed…you are only following our laws…but…" he trailed off, looking down, "He's ours…"

Claude laughed suddenly then. "You're talking like a damned human! Can you even hear yourself? Can you, _Prince Malphas_?" He threw his head back and laughed, and there were tears on his cheeks when he looked back down, and put the child on the bed. "You'd ask this of me?" he choked out. "You'd ask me to give up _my_ life, my standing, for _this_? For you? Sebastian?"

"I'm sorry…you're right…you are always right…I'm…just being emotional… I really have become as bad as a human with my emotions… That's why…do it now…before I can stop you…save our statuses and lives in Hell…I…I'm sure I'll get over it…" He wanted to scoop the baby up into his arms again, wanted to protect him; to pretend he was normal…maybe to claim his heir was a half-demon? He had impregnated a human woman by accident and she died giving birth? No, the child wasn't a crow…he was a spider. The lie wouldn't hold.

Claude shook his head. "If this child means more to you then our lives...I cannot bring myself to devastate you any further. Damn the both of us now, because I cannot do it." Tears streamed unchecked down his cheeks, and he did not brush them.

"I…I'm sorry, Cimeries…" he picked up the baby and cradled him before reaching out to Claude, "I wish…I could make this better…maybe we can hide him…let them never find out…we have time, after all."

The spider demon trembled, overwhelmed with emotion like he hadn't been in...he couldn't even recall. "...That is...our only o-option, isn't it," he wept, kneeling beside the medical bed and resting his forehead against the cool metal frame, gripping the sheets despairingly in his hand.

Sebastian nodded, "An heir to a thrown he can never claim…" he choked out, holding the child gently, "No one can know of him…or he'll be in danger…we'd be in danger…" he rested a hand atop Claude's head, "I'm sorry…it has to be this way…I tried to stay cold…I really had…"

Claude shook his head lightly, not saying anything more and staring at the floor, watching those curious, treacherous tears drip onto the polished wood. He felt they had essentially forfeited their lives anyway...

Their only chance was if they pretended it was some worthless bastard child of Claude's with some woman.

"What…should we say about him should anyone spot him?" Sebastian asked, keeping his gaze turned away from his lover, "I can't say he's mine…he isn't a crow…" there was slight hurt in his voice at that fact, "But…I suppose if he had been a crow…we would have been able to abort him…"

Claude was silent for a while. "...Wonder if I'd have been able to, even then," he said thickly. "...He'll display s-some traits of yours, I am sure. If anyone asks, it's my lovechild from a dead woman."

The crow gave a solemn nod and finally looked up at Claude, his hand sliding down the man's wet cheek and cupped his face, turning him to look at him. His thumb gently whipped away a few tears, "We can do this…" he whispered firmly.

Claude stared up at him and again shook his head. He was despairing, but this was the fate he had been too weak to avoid. There was a soft whine from the baby...Elijah. He looked over at it miserably.

"I'm sorry…I know it's my fault…" Sebastian turned his attention to Elijah and tickled the baby's chin to help calm his whining, "It's alright if you are angry with me…It's understandable if you even hate me for it…"

"I don't _hate_ you, you foolish imbecile...Precisely the damn opposite," he hissed, then closed his eyes. "It will be alright, though...either the child is hidden, and you are happy, which makes me happy, or the child is found out...and then I could simply kill myself, couldn't I? It works out fine."

"I…That's fair…if he's discovered…" the crow nodded, giving off a small yawn.

"Hardly a matter to yawn at, Malphas," he said acidly. He wiped his eyes off and looked him over. "Oh, I suppose you're going to pass out on me now, aren't you."

Sebastian looked down, "I can't help it…I could call Faelan in to take Elijah…"

Claude sighed. "You'd better hope I'm not persuaded by my worse half while you're out," he muttered, slowly getting to his feet and brushing his hair off his face.

"I trust you." Sebastian said, then glanced down at Elijah, "Shall I call for him? Or can I hand him off to you?"

Claude took the child into his arms with a deep sigh. "I will take him for now. ...Would you desire for me to perform the naming ritual?"

Sebastian paused in settling down and frowned before nodding, "I doubt I'll be strong enough to help perform it with you in a while. Go ahead."

"One more thing," Claude added. "Do you intend to dote our human surnames upon the child, or give him one of his own?"

"I see nothing wrong with using ours. Human names hold no meaning in Hell." he yawned.

"It's a bit of a mouthful, though," he muttered. "Oh, I suppose it doesn't matter to you at the moment." The child cooed in his arms. "Goodbye, for now," he said quietly.

"…we can discuss it further later then…" he sighed, unable to keep his eyes open any longer.

Claude took the child from the room. It was covered in dried blood and was no pleasure to the olfactory senses, so he supposed he'd give it a bath.

* * *

To be continued...


	23. Chapter 23

Over the next three days, Sebastian slept; his energy slowly building back up to a normal level along with his strength. He woke a few times randomly, sometimes long enough to eat something Claude or Faelan brought him, other times to hold Elijah for a moment before sleep took him once more, but it was never very long.

Finally, he awoke, feeling close to normal once more. His body looking, once again, healthy and perfect. He peeled back his covers and slipped out of his bed and walked over to the door, venturing out to search for Claude.

Under Claude's guidance, the child was already being raised a genius. Though walking and talking were certainly a long way off, even for demon children who grew substantially faster than humans, he'd already taught the baby how to roll over. Elijah was slowly getting the hang of sitting up, too, Claude was pleased to note. It was learning tricks, he thought. Kind of like a dog. Unaware that Sebastian was out of bed, Claude was down in the kitchens, making sweets. Elijah was propped up against a bag of flour on the kitchen counter.

It didn't take the crow long to find Claude once he caught the scent of sweets baking. He slipped stealthily into the kitchen and stepped up behind Claude, slipping his arms around him, inhaling his scent.

Claude turned and looked over his shoulder at the man. "...I see you're feeling better," he remarked. He looked down at the arms around him...no longer thin and spiderlike, Sebastian seemed back to full health.

"Mm, much." He agreed, pressing a kiss to the back of Claude's neck before his eyes slid over to Elijah, "You have him sitting up already?" he asked, "Or have I been asleep longer than I thought?"

"He seems to be very sharp," Claude replied. "Prodigal, almost. He is still learning this particular task, of course."

Sebastian let a proud smile curl his lips and he pulled away from Claude to pick up the boy, who gave off a happy squeal and kicked his legs as he was brought into his birth-father's arms.

"He also seems to be able to recognize us," he added, turning away to stir the batter mix. "By our auras."

"Of course. We are his parents, after all." He said, putting the boy on his hip and approaching Claude once more, looking down into the mixing bowl, "Does he have your taste for sweets, then?"

"I fed him a soul, at the beginning," Claude murmured. "Which he was happy for. But not as happy as…this..." He held up the mixing spoon to the child, who squealed, flinging out a chubby arm. Claude extended the spoon to his mouth and Elijah immediately began to suck it.

"He's definitely your son, then." He chuckled, taking the spoon from Claude so he could have both hands back as Elijah suckled on the sweet batter. "Explains my cravings for sweets while I was pregnant."

Claude sighed deeply. "Right. Because the webbing he's leaving on my shirts isn't a clue enough," he muttered, turning to show him the glistening strands of web stuck to his shirt.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and looked down at his own night shirt he was still in, seeing small formations of webbing where the boy's hands had touched, "…I'm sure he'll learn to control it when he's a little older."

"Certainly," Claude remarked. "He's very energetic, too. I guess he doesn't need to sleep. It's odd...I keep thinking of him as a human baby."

"Well…it's not as if we have raised a demon child before…With Ciel and Alois we got used to putting children to bed at night…" Sebastian pointed out, "But it feels like I'm back to normal for the most part. So I should be able to help with him now."

"Good," Claude remarked. "It's tiresome." Elijah's little black-pointed hands slid through the batter, and he reached for Sebastian's face curiously.

"It can't be all that bad, we—" he stopped, a small, messy hand smacking into his cheek, a finger sliding over his lips enough to get some of the sweet batter into Sebastian's mouth. His eyes widened and his eyebrow twitched as he tried to restrain himself from frightening the child due to the unpleasant taste.

Claude stared at him for a moment before starting to chuckle lightly, for the first time in a while. He leaned in and licked the batter off Sebastian's cheek.

"…That was unpleasantly unexpected." Sebastain sighed, reaching out to grab a towel to clean off Elijah's hand.

"No, no, I rather liked it," Claude replied. "Good boy," he added to Elijah, who cooed absentmindedly in response.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and swiped his fingers into the bowl of batter before smearing it on Claude's cheek, "You're right, it can be entertaining." He smirked.

Claude extended his long tongue and wiped it off skillfully. "I'll make you eat these if you don't watch it," he muttered.

"Oh, lighten up. I just got out of the sick bed. Don't go putting me back in it." He said, shifting Elijah to his other hip, using the towel to clean up a bit of batter that had dripped on the counter.

"Well, you can have it for now. I'm busy. Therapy baking, and whatnot." He dismissed him lightly, going back to stirring the substance.

The crow nodded, "I'll take the opportunity to get to know our son more then…which reminds me, did you perform the naming ritual?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask," Claude replied. "Yes, I did the ritual, and I learned his name." He turned to the baby. "It's Avnas," he murmured, and the child's sunny eyes flashed pink. The sight made him smile faintly.

Sebastian smiled, "Avnas…That's a good strong name." he praised the child.

When the child's eyes faded back to their normal colors, Claude leaned in. "Such a curious color his eyes are, would you not say?" He stared at the bright, sunshine-orange color the boy's eyes were.

"Our genes must have mixed evenly when it came to them." He nodded, "I don't think I've ever crossed a demon with such bright orange eyes."

"Well...he's going to be a very attractive little child, isn't he," Claude remarked. "And even moreso as a man. Lucky him, having fathers as aesthetically blessed as us."

I think he has all the luck in the world at this point…let's hope he doesn't use it up." Sebastian pressed a kiss to his son's cheek.

"Let's pray," Claude said with an exhale, prodding the child's with one plastic-gloved finger. "The least you can do is ensure his mind remains sharp, Michaelis. Don't let him become dull."

"Of course not. I'll not coddle him soft. He's a prince, after all. Though…praise at his successes are acceptable, I think."

"I mean...make sure he never stops learning...he must grow mentally as fast as he does physically, after all," Claude told him. He gave Elijah a little more batter before sending Sebastian on his way with a light touch to the backside.

Sebastian smirked, winking at Claude as he left, carrying Elijah into another room where he could further the boy's learning and get to know him a little more to catch up on the time he missed.

Claude turned back to his baking. He'd tried to pretend he wasn't interested in the child, but it was very intelligent, and it depended on him for survival. Similar to Sebastian. He couldn't help but feel connected to it, especially with its arachnid-like capabilities. It wasn't worth taking the breath to say he didn't want the child, because they both knew it wasn't true.

* * *

 

As the weeks passed, Elijah grew stronger, learning quickly both things his parents taught him, and a few things he discovered on his own. A month after birth, he was the size of a toddler and was running around, opening doors and getting into things.

The amber-eyed boy giggled, slipping out of his chair where Sebastian had him sitting, trying to teach him to speak, and he ran over to the door, only to find it was locked. Pouting slightly at being confined, he pressed his hands to the door and began to climb up it towards the high ceiling, leaving webbing behind as he did so.

"E-Elijah…" Sebastian stood up and approached the energetic boy, grabbing him before he got too high.

Claude often hopped out one window and dropped down or climbed up to reach the rooms he desired. He slipped in Sebastian's window, eloquently balancing tea and a bowl of baby food on a tray. He straightened up and placed it down on a table.

"My, my...what is he getting up to now?" Claude questioned, seeing the door covered in webbing that went almost halfway to the celing.

"I'm not sure, he tried to open the door first. I think he's just trying to start another game of chase." Sebastian chuckled, pealing some of the webbing off the boys small jacket and walking with him back over to the table, "Too bad we cant use his webbing to stick him in one spot." The crow smirked and set him down, touching his nose, "Stay. Or no desert tonight."

Elijah stared at him with wide, pouting eyes, as if he knew he was being scolded. He was a very energetic little child...it was difficult to get him to stay in one place.

"He doesn't mean it," said Claude gently. "How could I not give you dessert, hmm?"

"You'll spoil him." Sebastian sighed, "He needs to settle down enough to learn a few things. In the last half hour, he's gotten up and tried to escape his lessons sixteen times."

"Sixteen? I might've strapped him down at this point," Claude replied. "Sounds like you're not disciplining him properly." Elijah turned and gave him the same pouting look...it always had more of an effect on Claude than it did on Sebastian.

"Maybe so." He chuckled, "But we both have our weaknesses when it comes to him." he ruffled the boy's hair, "He knows how to manipulate us sometimes."

Claude's fingers tickled over the child's ribs, eliciting loud squeals and laughter that made the demon smirk a little. "Are you ticklish, Sebastian?" he questioned.

"…I wouldn't know." He lied. In fact, he had discovered he was once due to a contract he had held with a man who had three children. Two had been fully grown, but one had been about five and had attacked him and tickled him when he had been around. Sebastian had rarely showed himself to his master's family, due to an order, but there were a few times, which he regretted. His master had even teased him about being not only a ticklish demon, but a ticklish _crow_ demon with 'all those feathers'.

Claude raised an eyebrow. "Ah...Hevana says you're lying~" he mused, gesturing to a little spider coasting around on his pocket. "Must be where the boy gets it, then," he said, setting him down and starting to feed him.

"Can nothing be kept secret from you?" he smirked, "Fine, I'm…a _little_ ticklish. Satisfied, Hevana?" he looked down at the spider.

Claude offered Sebastian the little spider. Elijah watched it curiously.

"I'm satisfied~" the demon replied. "What happens if I tickle you, dear Sebastian?"

"I'll be forced to laugh, is what would happen." He said matter-of-factly, "maybe squirm slightly if I remember correctly."

"My, my...I'm starting to get tempted~" Claude replied, as he fed the child. "Seeing you squirm...what a highly desirable sight."

"You don't have a problem with making me squirm last I checked." He smirked, his gaze shifting down to Claude's crotch before flickering back up. "You needn't tickle."

"Forcing you to do something against your will, then. That is also desirable. Laughing, for example...I may find that amusing." His eyes glinted as he stared his lover over.

"You wouldn't dare." He narrowed his eyes, unable to stop a small curl to his lips.

"Do you honestly think that is the case~?" Claude purred. "Oh...making you slip up on your composure, lose control..." He bit his lip, still smirking a little.

"If you think I'll simply allow you to do so, you are mistaken." The crow smirked, his eyes glinting.

Claude gave a snort of derision. "And what will you do about it~?" he asked. "Think you can stop me, love?"

"You'd have to catch me. And the window is open, don't forget I can fly." He smirked

Claude leaned in to his lover, trailing one long and sticky strand of web across the man's chest. "I can fly too...and I can hold you in place...for a very long time, as you recall..."

"I don't think you should start teaching our son your bondage techniques this early, love." He said, caressing Claude's cheek.

Claude chuckled at this. "Oh yes...his mind should be kept pure and innocent for as long as possible, would you say?" Elijah whined once Claude had gotten distracted from feeding him.

"I agree." The crow chuckled, turning away from him to pick up Elijah's bowl and spoon, "And we should feed him."

"Then again, with parents like us, how long do you expect he will stay pure? He's a demon, after all...with quite respectable lineage." Claude held the wiggling child in place while Sebastian fed him.

"I don't expect him to be innocent forever… but at least until he hits puberty. We can do that by behaving ourselves when he's around." He said, offering another spoonful to the boy. "…Think he'll be ready to learn to feed himself with a spoon, soon?"

"Puberty," Claude snorted. "How many demons last even that long, I wonder...Well, fine. But if he comes running into our room, he can suffer."

"…I lasted nearly that long when it came to lust. My parents were focused on other sins…mostly pride." Sebastian shrugged.

Claude leaned back, sipping his tea calmly. "My brothers were not so considerate. They'd bring anybody back home...human, demon. Male, female. Young or old. And if they weren't doing that, they were quite incestuous anyway. Nobody was really spared and privacy was...hard to come by."

"Get caught indulging in lustful acts yourself once or twice?" he snickered, scraping the last of Elijah's food into one spot to pick it up with the spoon before offering it to the boy.

Claude nodded casually. "Yes...when my aura changed to become lustful, they caught on," he said amusedly. "And I ended up joining in with their acts for a good half-century, until I left."

"Well, at least you had an outlet for it. When I began to have my own urges, it was right before I found out about my illness. Didn't get much of a chance to explore the sin. Ended up learning to simply control it." He set the dirty dishes aside and picked up his teacup, "But then you came along and spoiled me."

"I'll just have to keep teaching you~" Claude murmured. "It still bewilders me that you could be so innocent, Michaelis. The man who…beds nuns." He clicked his tongue. Elijah saw a spider crawling, and picked it up by a strand of web. Claude's contentedness lasted up until Elijah flung the poor arachnid across the room, and the demon had to hurry over and see that it was unharmed.

"I did not enjoy that particular part of my order. Same goes with the lion tamer at the circus." Sebastian replied, dully, "It was simply a tool to gain information faster…" he frowned, seeing his son's treatment of the small arachnid, "Elijah. Don't throw spiders."

It seemed to amuse the baby, who giggled happily. Claude scowled at him, petting his spider affectionately before settling it back on his coat pocket.

"No, Elijah. It's not funny." Sebastian scolded, "You treat them nice."

Claude huffed lightly, walking over to Elijah and tipping him over without too much force. He was about to scold him himself when he heard the doorbell ring. It was peculiar...not many people called on them. "...Do you wish to get that, or shall I?"

"I will. You seem a little better at disciplining him." the crow nodded, setting down his nearly finished cup of tea and walking to the door, taking out a key from his breast pocket and opening the locked door with it.

The Oriental doctor, He Jinzhou was waiting on the doorstep. He bowed lightly when the prince answered it. "...Your Majesty," he greeted him formally.

"Good afternoon." The crow greeted, bowing his head and holding the door open to let the man into the entry hall out of courtesy. Elijah was in the third floor study, so he should be safe as long as Claude didn't bring him down. "To what do I owe the visit? I can send for Mister Faustus if you are here regarding his treatment?"

The Doctor nodded. "I'll be returning to China now. I have far overstayed my visit in England...though not without cause, of course," he said with a courteous nod. "Mr. Faustus is all in all cured from his ailments, but I thought I'd stop by for a checkup before I depart. And I must say...what a friendship you have, to now be sharing living space with such a man."

"It…is convenient. As I have consumed my former master's soul, I have time before my next set of attacks start up, but being near the source of help with such attacks leaves me prepared." Sebastian said simply.

"...I see," replied the man calmly. "Makes sense…in a way. Shall I head up to see him, then...?" His head curiously tilted in Claude's direction, as if he sensed a second presence in the dwelling.

"No." he responded as calmly as he could, "I shall go get him. Please wait in here." he said, gesturing into a nearby sitting room lavishly furnished.

The doctor adjourned to the room indicated and took a seat on a comfortable looking couch.

Claude had scolded the child, and Elijah had cried. The demon, feeling sympathetic, promptly let him lick the icing off a cupcake while stroking his hair, after making him promise never to hurt his arachnid brethren again.

Sebastian reentered the room, "Claude, Doctor He Jinzhou is here to see you. I've left him in the front sitting room." He eyed the frosting stuck in the corner of Elijah's mouth, chuckling, he pulled out a handkerchief and knelt down to clean him up.

Claude frowned a little, ruffling the boy's wispy hair and getting up. "Very well. I shall deal with this as promptly as possibile...Maybe you should move the boy elsewhere...just in case," he added in a low voice.

Sebastian nodded, "I'll make sure he'll stay hidden." he agreed, tucking his handkerchief away and picking up his son.

Claude gave a slightly uneasy sigh and departed to go and see the doctor. It was nothing but a routine check-up, but the doctor was asking a few odd questions. Like how he'd heard of many odd, unexplained murders. People found in webs. And why was there so much webbing on Claude's clothing? Surely a spider demon should not be so careless.

Why did the demon smell like baby food? Powder? Claude told him it was not his business, of course, and to please keep to the routine.

Sebastian handed Elijah his favorite stuffed toy and quickly took care of the bowl and spoon that had held Elijah's baby food, making it look like the two demons had simply been having tea before the doctor visited. He then gathered the boy into his arms and took him to the nursery. Faelan had been offered freedom, and had taken it, though the young demon did come to visit once in a while and help out. Taking the key out to lock the door to the nursery, just in case. Then he called for the albino.

Faelan appeared within half a minute of Sebastian calling him. He offered the demon a soft smile, though it turned to a slight frown when he sensed the doctor in the house.

"...Malphas," he said with a gracious nod. "Good to see you again."

"Faelan. Thank you for coming." He nodded, glancing over his shoulder, "If You could grant us a favor and keep Elijah hidden? I can't leave him alone. He's been crawling up walls lately."

"Of course I can do that," he replied, running a hand through his snowy hair. "Always a pleasure to see little Avnas." He smiled again and slipped back inside the nursery. Elijah was behaving himself at least, sitting on the couch where Sebastian had placed him.

Faelan was always instructed, if he didn't know what to do with Elijah, keep him learning.

"Thank you. I'm locking the door, but keep an ear out. I doubt we'll have problems, but you never know." He nodded before closing the door and locking it. He pocketed the key and turned to take the still hot tea down to the sitting room.

Faelan turned to Elijah, who held out a hand happily to him.

"Well. Let's get back to counting, I suppose," he said with a smile, and sat down with the boy.

Claude currently had his shirt off, as the man examined him. Of course, he didn't see why he should have to take it off, but the doctor had insisted anyway.

The crow demon gave a small smile as he entered with the tea tray, "Would you like some tea, Doctor? It's still quite fresh." He eyed the two demons, trying not to let a frown tug at his lips as he saw his lover shirtless; the seal he had carved into Claude's chest quite visible.

The doctor smirked a little. "Yes, I would. I knew a prince like you would never forget his courtesies." He touched Claude's pale, defined pectorals with black-nailed fingers, with made Claude sigh with faint irritation.

Sebastian nodded and poured tea into a cup, preparing it the way he knew the man liked it before holding it out to him, "I do not simply forget of such things." He said, "Had you sent word that you were coming, I would have had things ready for you before-hand."

"..Alas, I should have called ahead. As you both seemed a little…preoccupied with something," he smirked. "Any chance...you could have a child around, perhaps? At least...that is what my logic concludes."

Claude's skin got the faintest goose bumps as he heard the question.

"A child?" Sebastian asked, turning back to the tea trey to hide any emotion that may flicker across his features, busying himself with two more cups of tea, "The last child I have interacted with is now quite dead, though, I suppose he was on the verge on manhood." He lied.

"Such a shame, that. It was for the better of course, your Highness...you are clearly in much better health now, after all."

Claude narrowed his eyes ever so faintly and began to redress.

"He was just a human." Sebastian lied again, schooling his features as he turned back and handed Claude his cup of tea, taking a seat and taking a sip of his own.

Claude took it and sat down with the others.

"Yes, of course. A means to an end, the way it should be. But...I am certain I could feel a child's presence here..."

"Perhaps there are children playing in the nearby fields?" Sebastian suggested, glancing at Claude as he gestured towards the window.

Claude just glowered, annoyed by the doctor and his questions. "What would we want with a child anyway? What place would one have here?" he muttered.

The doctor turned his gaze to the window. "Unless you've had some business with those children..." he murmured. Both demons didn't have pleasant looks for him, so he finally dropped it. "Oh well. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Of course it's nothing." Sebastian nodded, "Children play. As long as they don't come too close, there is no reason to chase them off."

"I suppose," murmured the doctor. His eyes had fixated on a baby-sized sock beneath one of the couches, but he said nothing, merely smirking. "Very well. I would say Cimeries is back to full health," he announced. "What a pleasure it has been."

"Yes, thank you for all your help." Sebastian nodded, "And I hope your travels back to China will go smoothly."

"Anything for the prince and his…concubines," said the doctor.

"Excuse me?" Claude cut in sharply, unable to keep quiet at that jab.

The doctor smirked. "He's branded you, hasn't he?"

Sebastian bit down on his tongue to stop himself from saying something he'd regret, his mind trying to think of another reason his mark would be upon Claude's chest apart from the truth. However, all the reasons that would be valid were worse than the doctor thinking Claude was a concubine.

Claude just looked away, the faintest color coming to his cheeks as he realized he would have to simply endure this slur to his dignity. "Anyway," he said in a low tone, "we appreciate your visit. With all due respect, I hope neither of us will require your services again."

"Of course," replied the Asian. "Who wants to see a doctor, after all~?" He finished his tea and got up.

Sebastian nodded and stood to show the man to the door, "…Should you ever find yourself in England again, you are welcome to visit." He said politely as the man left.

He sighed a few moments after the door closed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose to fend off a headache, "…I'm sorry he thinks such things of you."

Claude scowled, pacing the room. "Honestly," he snapped. "If he hadn't…done the things that he did, he might have left here missing a body part or two." He cracked his knuckles, looking down at Sebastian. "So the albino's got Elijah?"

"Yes. I didn't want to leave him alone, but it would have been suspicious if I simply disappeared during his visit. Good thing too…seems he was asking a lot of questions when I walked in." he said, walking over to slip his arms around Claude's waist.

"He certainly was," Claude hissed. "If I were you I would've told him to mind his damn place." He envied that Sebastian could just have a man flogged, sometimes. It was sorely tempting.

"And if he took that kind of reaction and came back when it may be harder to hide Elijah?" He pointed out, raising an eyebrow, "Anyway. He's leaving England. He shouldn't be back."

"Good," the demon muttered, turning around to face him. He kissed his lips softly, resting a hand on his backside and lifting one cheek lightly.

The crow smiled into the kiss, "Should we let Faelan watch Elijah a little longer?" he murmured, "We haven't had much time alone together much lately."

"Yes...I would...concur with that..." Claude muttered. "In fact I had similar thoughts. It's convenient you're in good health right now because I am in an awful mood." His eyes glinted with a challenge.

"Understandably." He smirked, trailing his lips along his jaw and nipping hard on his lover's neck, just shy of breaking his skin.

"Shall we?" Claude asked. Since the child had been born, they had been a little too sidetracked to think much about getting each other off...sex had been rare, it was more commonly simple blowjobs and, easiest of all, occasional frottage.

"Needn't ask." He said, pushing the larger demon back towards the couch, "I'm looking forward to this, love."

"The couch, hm," Claude murmured. "What's on your mind, dear Sebastian?" There had been no question when Ciel died as to whether Sebastian wanted to keep his name. Claude had remained Claude, and Sebastian wanted to remain Sebastian.

"Only that it is closer than the bed." He said, pushing Claude down onto it and covering his body with his own. He trailed his fingers down Claude's chest, popping open buttons as he went.

"You're not wrong," Claude whispered back, extending his tongue and licking slowly at the man's neck. He could hear the blood pumping through his arteries, and nicked his skin lightly, just to draw a tiny bit of blood.

"Mmmm," pushing open Claude's shirt, he took the time to run his fingers over his abs, slowly trailing them over Claude's skin, "You can take more than that, you know." He whispered, squeezing a nipple.

"Of course, but…only with your permission, love," he whispered, slowly flipping their positions over so he was on top. Truth be told, he was glad Sebastian had his flawless figure back...it was so very enticing.

"You have it." He smirked looking up at Claude, "You look positively starved for this. Take what you want. I'm just as hungry." He hooked his finger atop the knot of his tie, tugging it loose and undoing the top buttons of his shirt.

Claude proceeded to remove both their shirts, positioning his groin over Sebastian's as he enjoyed to, and rubbing through their clothes. "Oh, I know you are. We both are..." He reached down and began to massage the man's nipples slowly.

Sebastian gave a roll of his hips, grinding up against Claude and drawing him into a kiss, moaning as he tasted his lover, running his tongue along his lips.

"Hmmnn...your body is perfect," Claude whispered. "You know that?" he began to harden, and his kiss became feister and hotter.

Sebastian smirked into the kiss, "Good, I had gotten worried for a while…" his hands began to wander faster, sliding down to Claude's pants to pull open his belt, "You, of course, never stopped being perfect."

"I suppose I didn't," Claude teased, lightly rolling his masculine hips up against Sebastian's hand. He forced his tongue into the kiss, exploring Sebastian's mouth keenly.

Sebastian parted his lips and moaned, pushing Claude's pants from his hips before moving to his own belt, hurriedly tugging it loose.

"You want it, don't you," Claude purred, biting his lip and trailing soft nips along his jaw and down his neck. "Say it. You want me to make you feel good."

The crow blushed, "Making me beg for it? He asked, his eyes glinting. Normally, when Claude wanted him to beg, he'd hold out longer before giving in. But Claude's pride had taken a blow earlier that day, and he hadn't been able to defend it. "I want it, Claude." He moaned seductively into his ear, "Please give it to me."

Claude was glad to be given this little vice of his. He gave him a deep and passionate kiss before opening up a light cut on Sebastian's neck, and moaning heavily when the delicious elixir touched his tongue. A hand slipped down and tossed Sebastian's belt aside, moving a hand into his pants.

Sebastian groaned, grinding against the hand, his own hand gripping Claude's bare hip and thigh. He bit his lip, closing his eyes to savor the feeling of Claude licking up his blood.

Claude pushed his hip back against him, licking his lips contentedly. "Hmm, now what shall I do to you..."

His next thought was interrupted as he heard little baby footsteps and Elijah came thudding into the room. Faelan, seeing what they'd been up to, grabbed Elijah and hid his eyes while Claude got off the man.

"Sorry!" the albino cried. "We thought it was safe, since the doctor left, to come back down..."

Sebastian blushed deeply, "Th-That's fine…Just…watch him a bit longer?" he choked out, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the situation.

Faelan flushed. "Um, well, yes, I ...suppose.." He was happy to get to spend time with Elijah. He steered the child away, holding him by the hand.

Claude sighed. "...That was ...certainly a turnoff."

"Should have locked the door at least…" Sebastian agreed with a sigh, relaxing against the couch and looking up at Claude.

Claude lay against him. "Should have." He licked up the last trails of blood from Sebastian's neck before muttering, "His innocence didn't last long, did it?"

"…Maybe he didn't see anything?" he asked hopefully. And sighed, "Do you want to get the mood back…or should we try again some other time we get the chance?"

"Well, we weren't _out_...even if my hands were down your pants," he said amusedly. "I'm honestly unsure now...Perhaps we should wait until Faelan has left. It would be courteous."

"It would…" he agreed with a sigh, moving to sit up, "But we'd be hoping Elijah stays in bed for once so we can have time alone."

"Well, I would ask why you haven't taught him to stay in his bed when we put him there," Claude replied simply. "He needs to be disciplined."

"You try disciplining him at night. I just can't seem to do it right. He won't listen. I cave and let him stay up."

Claude clicked his tongue. "...Take away something he likes for a day. Tell him if he does the bad thing again, he'll never get it back."

"…I tried to tell him no desert tonight if he didn't behave. You said you'd give it to him anyway." He pointed out.

"Well, he needs food. He doesn't need, say, that toy duck with the quacking thing inside it. The one he so adores." Claude sat up, reaching for his shirt.

"Food, yes, sweets, no." He sighed, "He needs to be limited on sweets anyway. I even had Ciel on a sweets limit. He disliked it, but got used to it."

"Try it with the toy then, Sebastian. See if it works. I won't tolerate disobedience, you know." He began to button his shirt calmly.

"I will. But still, cut down on his sweets intake. He'll grow spoiled." He grabbed his vest and pulled it on, buttoning it up, "Then we'll see if we can have our lustful nights back."

Claude smirked a little and nodded. "Here's hoping, then," he said simply. "I don't want to have to resort to less civilized forms of restraint, after all."

"…on our son, at least." He smirked, retying his tie and running his hands through his hair, "In any case. He's growing fast. He should reach the age soon where he doesn't need to be watched every second of the day."

"Not fast enough," Claude murmured. "I mean...it _has_ only been a month...but it'd be good if he could understand our speech...or at least be toilet-trained already? That'd be great." He slipped his neck-tie on and pulled on his vest.

"…Imagine if he was human…" Sebastian grumbled, "He'd still be laying on his back." He combed his fingers through Claude's hair to calm a particularly messy lock of hair and kissed his cheek.

"Yes, but we mustn't compare our kind to the humans," Claude murmured. "...Though I did say I am equal with the creatures of Earth...we are still far more intellectually advanced. There is no point to deny that." He leaned in to Sebastian's touch tenderly, kissing his lips and running a hand over his thigh.

"I just meant it as a tool to remind you how lucky we are that we are a family of demons. I can't imagine trying to raise a child that was so…slow at everything. Elijah's smart, even for the average demon his age. He's learning at a faster speed when he actually listens."

"I couldn't imagine either. I'd get far too frustrated, I'd imagine. But you're right. I am grateful that our child is already as intellectually gifted as he is. Just a few behavioral issues that need to be straightened out."

The crow nodded, "Shall we go continue teaching him today's lessons?" he asked, picking off some webbing from Claude's vest.

"Speech, right?" Claude murmured, stroking the man's soft hair. "That would be wise. I imagine _our_ home tongue should be taught first?"

"That is what I was teaching him before he tried to escape up the wall." He nodded, "I plan to teach him to be fluent in many tongues. Demonic, English, Chinese, French. But Demonic and English first, I believe."

"The languages of the British Isles would be recommended too. Gaelic, and Welsh. And we cannot forget Latin. But you are right. The Black Speech is vital for any demon. At least it will come naturally to him."

"That is why I believe it is best to be taught first. It'll give him a way to communicate properly. Then English, not just because we are in England, but because it is one of the more difficult to learn. It has words from many languages and it should help him in learning the rest." The demon walked over to the door and opened it.

Claude followed, his hand casually sliding over the man's firm backside keenly. "...hn...and it was getting so heated too, wasn't it," he mumbled as they followed Elijah's scent out to one of the sun rooms—Claude's personal favorite. Faelan was with him.

"Thank you for watching him for us, Faelan." Sebastian said as they walked into the room, walking over to Elijah and trying to tame his hair a little.

Faelan smiled at them. He knew he owed it to them to help look after the child, after all he had been so insistent on it being allowed to live. "Anytime, Malphas," he said, standing up. "I love seeing him."

"Just remember you are aloud to say no if you are busy or don't feel like it." The crow smiled, "You aren't my servant any longer, after all."

"I come of my own volition," Faelan replied happily, ruffling Elijah's hair, who promptly rolled over. "And I most often will. Thank you for having me." He bowed lightly to him. "Malphas. Cimeries." He was one of the few demons who got off addressing Sebastian with anything besides royal titles.

He departed after that.

* * *

To be continued...


	24. Chapter 24

Ten months passed quickly from the birth of Elijah, and the baby boy grew from a mischievous little bubble of energy, to an equally mischievous bright young boy who looked to be about five years old. The boy had grown out of not wanting to sleep at night, but had taken up wanting to sleep with his fathers at night instead, constantly sneaking in and wiggling down between the two demons.

Sebastian honestly didn't know how Elijah seemed to do such a thing, even when they tried locking the door and windows so that he and Claude could have a night alone together. Being a father was a full time job, and it was quite taxing on his personal time with Claude, but he couldn't stop loving the bright young boy who always seemed to have a smile on his face. He'd often gather the boy into his arms to hold him while they slept after they gave up on getting Elijah to go back to his own room.

Claude, on the other hand, seemed to be simply putting up with the boy's interruptions. At least, that was what Sebastian was sure about. Sure, the Spider demon tended to his fatherly duties without fail, comforted the boy when he had a bad dream or fell and got hurt when he was rough-housing and his webbing slipped, not having been sticky enough for what he wanted to use it for. But Claude still seemed to be putting up with it all for Sebastian's sake.

The crow pushed these thoughts out of his head as he held Elijah's hand, making sure not to loose him in the crowded streets of London. He, Elijah, and Claude had gone into town to run some errands as the little spider demon had done particularly well with his lessons that day, and would be rewarded with his favorite mortal meal. Though the pantry was low or out on most of the things Sebastian would need to prepare the dish.

Claude was slowly becoming accustomed to what was an almost domestic life. A secret life, yes, but quiet. With his lover, and his child...and no more diseases to worry about at the time being. Fames had eased its grip on Sebastian more than he'd ever thought—he was similar to how Claude used to remember him now. His heart melted when it came to Elijah, but in the end Sebastian had always been the stricter one, where Claude usually gave in.

Since Elijah had grown into a very intelligent child, and did well with his studies, Claude was more than happy to treat him, which was the case today. They rarely went out with the boy, but when anybody asked, it was the child of a dead concubine of Cimeries. In the presence of Prince Malphas, nobody would question it, either. Demon-wise, that was. Humans normally stayed out of the issue all-together.

"Come along," Claude said to Elijah, who was dawdling. "Pay attention."

"I am paying attention, Father, I'm just curious." The boy responded, quickening his pace to catch up to his parents and falling into step with them, "Those human kids were playing a game in that alley…Can't I play with them too?"

"I thought you wanted your favorite supper and desert?" Sebastian asked, looking down at him, "Not to play in an alley."

"Can't I have both? Please?"

"There's little point in you playing," Claude added. "As soon as you learn the rules you will be superior and win anyway. Might as well save us the time. Your father and I learned many centuries ago that the humans cannot hope to compete with us."

"Then I won't compete!" he announced, "I can just play like they do!"

"That would take a great deal of energy and concentration to hold yourself back so you can play at their level. And you and I both know you have yet to grasp full control in physically holding yourself back." Sebastian pointed out.

"And nothing is less fun than having to hold back your skills. Don't demean yourself, Avnas. Never demean yourself." Claude added as he took the child's tiny hand and ushered him along.

"But I never get to play with any other kids…" he complained, tugging on Claude's hand.

"Elijah." Sebastian sighed, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Don't start a fit. You are a princely heir. You are far, _far_ above such things."

Claude clicked his tongue. "I'm disappointed in your attitude," his spider father told him. "...I tell you what. If you don't complain, you can ride on my shoulders, alright?"

Immediately, the boy's pouting face lit up with a bright smile, holding his hands up like a younger child would when wanting to be picked up by a parent. "Alright. I won't complain!"

Sebastian sighed, pulling out their list of things they needed, "We should stop at the butcher's first to ensure we get the best possible cuts of meat."

Claude hoisted the child up onto his shoulders, feeling his small hands clamp around his head. Elijah was a fervent meat-eater...he loved any mortal food using any sort of meat protein. Once Elijah was settled happily upon Claude's shoulders, Sebastian started moving again, leading the way through the crowd to the Butcher shop. "Do you want to stay out here with him so he doesn't rope us into getting meat we had not planned on buying again?"

"Yum, yum, yum~" sung Elijah happily, and Claude gave a defeated sigh. "Nah, it makes him happy. Let's go in."

"I swear he thinks this is the candy store." The crow joked, opening the door and holding it for Claude, as well as an elderly man who was leaving with his purchase.

The scent of meat touched Claude's nose as he entered the butchery, and personally he loved it. "Alright, so what does the child want?" he asked, directing his question to the boy perched on his shoulders.

"Everything!" The boy announced with a grin, his hands going up in the air, his fingers spread wide to emphasize his point.

"We can't get everything." The crow chuckled, "You'll have to narrow things down a little." He walked over to the counter, looking over the available selections.

Claude glanced at Sebastian. "What's today's favorite food then? I swear, it changes that often," he murmured, feeling Elijah lean over to look as well.

"Pork! No, veal! No, Steak! Yes, definitely steak!" The boy said, watching with hungry eyes as the butcher wrapped a large steak in paper and handed it to a customer.

"And you are sure on that?" Sebastian smirked, teasing his son slightly.

"Definitely steak, he says," Claude murmured. "Then I'll leave you to take care of it. I'll head down to the bakery and pick up something for sweets."

Sebastian nodded and moved to get in line, "I'll meet you two over there." He flashed a small smile, "Unless you want to stay with me." he said, looking at Elijah.

Claude shook his head. "No. He wanted to be up here, he can stay until I'm done with what I'm doing." And with that, he left the shop and headed down to the bakery.

Sebastian turned and waited in line, placing his order and paying when it was his turn before tucking the package of meat under his arm and leaving the shop, turning towards the bakery.

"So…Elijah," Claude murmured. "...What sorts of sweets would you like tonight?" he asked, absentmindedly rubbing the child's knee as he walked along.

The boy slumped forward, resting his chin on his father's head as he ran over all the different types of sweets he could choose. "Strawberry shortcake." He decided as they walked in, "We haven't had it in weeks!"

"Your long-term memory has developed splendidly," Claude complimented to the boy. "You can have an extra, small sweet for that, if you don't tell Sebastian," he suggested. "How does that sound?"

"Really?" The boy perked up and he hugged Claude's head, "Can I eat it right away?"

"Yes," Claude replied. He so enjoyed rewarding the child for good behaviour. "So go on, pick something out. We must be quick."

The little spider demon wiggled, "Let me down! I want to go look at the cookies!" he grinned gleefully.

"Just one though," Claude told him, slowly lowering the child to the floor. He could see the baker, and elderly woman, smiling down at the boy. He gave her a nod and complimented her on her products.

Elijah hurried over to the cookie display where a few other children were looking at the goodies hungrily, pressing their noses against the glass. He joined them, though he behaved and didn't touch the glass and leave smudges on it as he looked, wondering what cookie he wanted most.

Claude hovered close by, ready to tip a child over if he dared touch Elijah. The child was certainly very courteous, which he and Sebastian had drilled into him. He knew his manners.

"That one please." Elijah asked, pointing to a rather large frosted oatmeal raison cookie near the back of the display, and smiling up at the woman.

Claude grimaced. Out of all the cookies, he chose one with raisins? How vile. He knelt beside his tiny son, resting a hand on his shoulder. "What was it, strawberry shortcake?" he asked the boy, resisting the urge to tickle his little tummy.

"Yes!" he grinned, turning around to look at his father.

"Would that be all?" the woman asked, carefully putting an order of strawberry shortcake into a pastry box and handing the cookie to the little boy who happily began to nibble on it.

There was a container of powdered lollipops, and Claude took one with a wink, and paid for the items. He sucked the item, holding Elijah's hand and the bag in the other, and headed out onto the street.

"Looks like you got more than you went in there for." Sebastian commented as he approached them.

Claude smirked faintly, removing the lollipop slowly, and giving it a sultry lick. "It would appear so," he murmured, pausing outside the shop with him.

"You're as bad as Elijah sometimes." He chuckled, "Maybe next time you should get the meat and I'll take him to the bakery."

"You can have a bite, too, Father." Elijah offered, holding out his half-eaten cookie.

Claude smirked a little. "Yes, Sebastian, why don't you?" he teased. "Daddy dearest."

Sebastian sighed, picking up Elijah and holding him on his hip before humoring the boy with taking a small bite of the cookie. It wasn't an overly sweet treat, so it wasn't all that disagreeable with him. "Thank you Elijah." He said, pressing a small, quick kiss to his cheek.

Claude was still rather seductively sucking on his lollipop, as if to entice his lover. "That was very polite of you," he added to his son. "Good form."

"Unlike you with that tongue." Sebastian commented with a slight blush, moving in and pressing a quick kiss to his lover's sweetened lips, ignoring the taste before pulling back.

"Excuse you, I am very polite with my tongue," Claude smirked, sneaking a light tap to the man's firm backside, then followed by a wistful sigh. He swore one of these days he might ravage his partner...it had been far too long.

Sebastian smirked, looking back at him as he began to walk away, ignoring the members of the crowd who were staring aghast at them, "Polite wouldn't be the word I'd use."

"Generous, perhaps~?" Claude teased, following him along. "Anyway, you mustn't speak like this in front of our son. That is improper."

"So is trying to," he dropped his voice, mouthing the words 'seduce me' before continuing on, "…in public."

" _Oh, right_ ," said Claude, suddenly switching to French. " _Dear Sebastian doesn't understand the thrills of a 'public fetish'~_ "

" _When our son is here? No_." He smirked, " _Try again when it's just us two._ "

Elijah looked between his fathers, wondering what they were saying. He hadn't started with French lessons yet, as he was still working on his Chinese.

" _Right_ ," Claude replied. " _Just us two. When is it ever, anymore?_ " He ran the tip of his tongue over the lollypop, still staring at him.

" _We can ask the triplets or Faelan to babysit for a night_." he suggested, reaching out to take his lollypop, " _Can't you eat this properly?_ "

Claude smirked a little. "I do rather like the sound of that," he remarked, sniffing the air suddenly. He thought he cought the faint scent of another demon nearby and decided it was time to call it a day. He glanced at Sebastian. The crow had paused, also catching the scent as the breeze picked up. He silently glanced at Claude, confirming it and nodding silently to indicate that he felt they should head back to the manor. He handed Claude back his treat and readjusted Elijah on his hip so he could move a little faster through the crowd.

It didn't take long. Once they were out of the city, they flitted back up to the manor. Elijah always liked it when they went really fast, and laughed joyfully the whole way.

Claude took them down to the kitchen to drop off their items.

Sebastian set Elijah down on the counter and put the steaks in the icebox until they were ready to start cooking them, "Well, would you like to help us cook dinner, or are you going to run off to play again?" he smirked, looking at their son.

Claude looked over at Elijah, waiting for his answer. The child was fond of cooking, or at least standing by as his parents cooked—he often got small treats while he waited, and Claude was happy to imprint the recipes into his son's head.

"I'll stay!" he grinned, swinging his legs. He had gone out to play in the garden the day before. Of course, the day before, dinner hadn't been one of his favorites, and he hadn't been interested in learning how to make it.

"In that case, go wash your hands." Sebastian suggested and watched at the boy jumped down to do so.

As soon as Elijah's eyes were averted, Claude's hand went straight to Sebastian's backside. He closed his eyes—the man was so taut, it was unbelievable. Sebastian smirked, continuing to gather spices to make a rub for the steaks as if nothing had happened. He then turned to take the spices to the counter, pausing just long enough to nip lightly at the spider demon's ear.

"So, do I have permission to ravage you tonight, dear?" Claude purred, a little shiver going through his body as he took the shortcake to the freezer room.

"Only if we manage to get the bed to ourselves, Love." He responded, starting to mix spices for the rub in a large bowl.

"Then, I might have to take door number two. The...without your permission option." He paused behind Sebastian. "I need you. I'm getting frustrated."

"I know, I am too…we haven't had a proper time alone together since before we found out I was carrying Elijah. The stolen moments we do manage to get aren't enough. I need the real thing."

Claude spun Sebastian around, pressing him against the counter. "I'm lying. I am far beyond frustrated, Sebastian. I'm _addicted_." His eyes flashed brightly.

The crow immediately leaned forward, crushing their lips together, his hands grabbing Claude's vest and pulling him up tighter against him, "Elijah will be coming back any minute..."

Claude held the kiss fiercely, his hands wandering. "Then I'll let you go...if you promise...promise we'll find a way, tonight," he replied, pressing his body straight up against him.

"Why don't we try switching rooms?" he muttered, his tongue flickering out to taste Claude's lips.

Claude's hand went straight down the man's pants. "You didn't promise. Promise me, Malphas. Or I'll fuck you right here and now."

"Now you see, you have me in quite the predicament, Cimeries…" he leaned in to whisper into his ear, "I want you to." He nipped at his ear again, rolling his hips against the hand in his pants, "But unless you know of a way to keep our son away while you do so, we can't."

Claude slammed his hand against the overhead cupboard, rubbing him to arousal. " _Just promise_ ," he whispered. "And the boy keeps his innocence a little longer."

"Fine, I promise. But you can't leave finding a way around Elijah's habit of weaseling his way into our bed at night."

Claude bared his teeth at the man. "Yes. It will be dealt with," he breathed, biting at the skin of his neck. He heard footsteps at the door and extracted his hand quickly, straightening back up.

The crow suppressed a whimper of disappointment and quickly turned back around, adding the last of the spices to the bowl and giving it a quick mix.

Claude smirked, knowing exactly what Sebastian was hiding. "All cleaned up? Good. You should have been faster, your father has already begun on the spices," he told the boy who wandered into the room curiously. There was the faint scent of arousal on the air, but Elijah didn't know what it was, and his fathers sometimes had that scent. He didn't really question it.

"Grab the steaks and I'll teach you to put the rub on the meat. It's a simple process, but it makes all the difference if you don't want to spend time marinating your meats." He explained, grabbing a plate. Elijah nodded and ran over to the icebox, grabbing the package of steaks so that they could begin making dinner.

Claude stepped back, still fuming with faint arousal. He decided he would leave the cooking of dinner to Sebastian, and would instead call upon his triplet servants to watch over Elijah's own room and make sure he stayed there that night.

* * *

To be continued...


	25. Chapter 25

Once Sebastian and Elijah finished preparing dinner and the meat, along with a side of scalloped potatoes were cooking nicely, the crow watched as the boy set the table, nearly perfectly. The boy had only forgotten to put out napkins; the placement of the silverware and dishes were perfect.

Claude entered once the food was served—he'd taken a shower in the meantime, and was drawn in by the scents of food. Eating human food was an everyday habit now, but he still struggled to get Sebastian into it the way that he and Elijah were. "This looks lovely," he stated.

"I set the table all by myself!" Elijah announced proudly as he climbed up into his chair as Sebastian served each of them a plate, giving himself a smaller portion as he normally did. He enjoyed eating like mortals, but not for the food. It was a nice quiet evening tradition where they could spend time together as a family.

"What a feat," Claude replied. Even Elijah ate more at dinnertime than Sebastian did, but Claude appreciated the sentiment. He finished his food off quickly, knowing that the sooner Elijah was in bed, the sooner he had Sebastian to himself.

"Mmm!" Elijah hummed happily as he finished his desert, being the last one done.

"I take it you enjoyed tonight's meal?" Sebastian asked, and the boy nodded, "Good. then it's time for bed."

"Already? Can't I stay up a little longer, Father?"

"You have a Chinese lesson early tomorrow morning," Claude replied. "You'll want to be well-rested. You may dress into your pajamas by yourself, tonight, and we hope you'll stay in bed."

"But I don't like my bed! I like sleeping with you, Fathers." He pouted.

Sebastian leaned over and grabbed the boy's lip, "It's only for a few hours, and you'll be asleep. It'll be morning before you know it. So don't pout."

Claude huffed. "And don't you like all those toys I made for you?" he asked, referring to Elijah's collection of plush toys. "Aren't they nice to have in your bed?"

"No! I like them. They are fun to play with…but I love you and its lonely without you two in the dark…"

"Come here." Sebastian pulled the boy into his lap, kissing the side of his head, "Claude and I have something we need to do before we go to bed tonight. So, tonight, prove to us that you are a big boy and sleep in your own bed, okay?"

"What could you be afraid of in the dark, anyway?" Claude added. Elijah knew nothing of the Void's existence, and as far as he knew had never experienced anything to do with it. "You're a demon."

"I'm not afraid! I'm a big boy…I…just like sleeping with you…"

"Well, if it is simply your preference to sleep with us, then you will be perfectly fine sleeping in your own bed for one night." The crow added.

Claude stood up, gathering the plates. He stepped over to Elijah and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. "If there is an emergency, you know where our room is. But it had better be urgent, alright? Goodnight, Avnas."

The boy nodded and got up, kissing Sebastian goodnight before shuffling his way up to his own room.

"Well, hopefully that worked." Sebastian sighed, helping to take dishes to the sink, "In the mean time…how about we forget about dishes tonight?"

"A triplet can do it," Claude replied keenly, pushing him back against the counter. "Let's play the 'how far can you get' game~" He bit at his lip keenly, forcing him into a fierce kiss.

Sebastian let off a small moan, letting the kiss grow heated as he slid his hands up under Claude's shirt, "Are you sure that's the game you wish to play?" he smirked, his lips never leaving his lover's.

"Let's see if you can even make it to the bedroom? Unless you had another game in mind...I'm always up to play new games~" he purred, arching immediately to Sebastian's touch.

"No, I am just surprised you wish for a hunt." He smirked before slipping out of Claude's grasp and running out of the kitchen at top speed.

As Sebastian approached a corner, Claude threw knives that pierced him to the wall, and he was on him in seconds, pulling at his clothes and kissing him again. "Oh, I'd hunt you any day~"

"Well, at this rate…lets see if I have any clothes left by the time we get to the bedroom." He smirked against his lips, letting the knives rip his shirt sleeves as he ducked down and bolted down the Hall towards the stairs.

Claude made for the window, flitting along and down a floor to the window below. He pushed it open just in time to catch Sebastian arriving at the bottom of the stairs, and he flung a web lasso at him, except he just wasn't quick enough.

Sebastian let out a small chuckle, turning the corner and heading towards their room, "Give up? Or should I take the long way around?" he teased over his shoulder.

Claude flung his lasso again, catching him by the ankle, and he grabbed him, ripping his shirt from his body and tying his arms behind his back. "How do you like that~?" he whispered.

Letting out a small moan, he looked up at the demon, "…lucky shot."

"Oh, you helpless little thing, Sebastian. Can't outrun a spider." He kissed and nipped fiercely at his neck, pressing his knee into the man's back.

"Spiders cheat." He smirked, a small moan slipping into his tone, "Webbing is an unfair advantage."

"No, I'm just using my Hell-given skills and abilities to my advantage. What about you?" Claude purred, nipping his ear.

Sebastian's smirk widened and his wings ripped from his back with a sound of bones cracking and popping painfully, the large black wingspan stretching out and upwards, pushing Clauce off his back. With some difficulty without the use of his hands, he got to his feet once more and bolted towards the bedroom. His wings giving him an extra burst of speed.

Claude didn't bother transforming, he just ran after him, laughing at the amusing sight. He met him in the bedroom and smirked from the doorway, resting a hand on his hip. "Very well. You made it, Sebastian. I owe you a special prize~"

Sebastian lay down on the bed, kicking off his shoes, his wings folded back behind his back, "I think you do." He agreed, licking his lips.

"So what'll it be?" Claude asked, removing his own shoes slowly. "Anything in particular you'd like, love?" He cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Rough." The crow responded, getting to his knees and spreading them, "I'd strip the rest of my clothes off for you, but you have already rendered my hands useless." He smirked.

"Just 'rough'? I was hoping you'd have a little more imagination at this point," Claude replied, kneeling before him and pushing Sebastian back over, starting to strip his pants off.

"You didn't ask for specifics." He smirked, letting his lower half be stripped bare. "I know between the two of us we have some toys to play with. That whip you keep in the wardrobe, for example." He slid his foot up along Claude's still clothed side.

Claude trailed his fingers up the underside of the man's erection when it was exposed. "I want to hear you ask for it," Claude replied. "You don't have to beg. Just tell me what you want...and I will oblige. I want to see you try and play naughty, for once."

"Try?" he smirked and hooked his leg around the spider's waist, pulling him in close and grinding against him, "I want you to whip me, Cimeries. Abuse me. Don't hold back as you take what you want…make me scream." He whispered huskily into his lover's ear before nipping at it.

Claude's eyes flashed keenly. "Ah, my favorite past-time," he remarked. "You are a little slut, aren't you? A little sub." He pulled his socks and trousers off, but kept his boxers on, teasing Sebastian with the sight of his clothed erection.

"Absolutely nothing wrong with that. You like making me scream like a whore, and maybe I enjoy it too." He purred, teasing Claude's member through the thin black cloth by sliding the ball of his foot over it gently.

Claude knelt over him, pushing his hips to the sensation. "Of course you do." He got up and walked over to his cupboard, the muscles in his back rippling attractively as he strode over. Of course, there was a whip in there, so he selected it, turning to glance back at his naked lover.

"How cruel do you feel tonight, love? Should I keep my wings out?" his eyes began to shimmer magenta, "Should I call you 'master'?"

"Put those things away," Claude replied. "You have no right to display yourself in such an arrogant, prideful manner. Call me what you wish." He ran the whip through his fingers, feeling its strength.

Sebastian's wings slowly began to retract into his back, a few feathers falling onto the silk sheets of the bed as they disappeared. He stood up and walked over to his lover, his lips curled in a smile, "If I am to be your slut tonight, then I may as well call you titled other than your name." he said, confident that his pride wouldn't be hurt, trusting that Claude would keep that night's activities between just the two of them.

"'Master' may do well then, if you can bring yourself to call me that." He snapped the whip tight in his hands and stepped back. It wasn't a terribly long whip, just the right length. "...How hard do you want it?"

"If I can call the humans I've contracted with by such a title, then I can have no problem referring to you with it in privet, Master." He said to emphasize his point. He smiled and turned around; looking over his shoulder at his lover, "Give it to me hard."

Claude stared at him. "I could rend your flesh from your bones. You ought to be more careful with what you ask for," he replied darkly, a smirk twitching at his lips.

"I'm not human. I can take it rougher. And my illness isn't in an attacking stage so we needn't worry I'd be put through too much stress physically. I can handle what you give. You can make me bleed. I just want you to know you needn't feel you'd break me if you smack me around," he began to circle the spider, "Tie me up, have your way with me. If you wish to rip flesh from bone, I'll not stop you, but will remind you of the cleanup that would cause the both of us."

"No...over the time I've spent with you...after Ciel's death, you have become stronger. I am confident to play with you. And while ripping your flesh off would be lovely...I also lament to harm your beautiful figure. So I'll just spill your blood instead, and then I'll lap it all up." He cracked the whip against the ground threateningly. "And you'll enjoy every second of it, you _slut_."

"Yes, Master." He smirked, stopping his circling and curling his toes when the whip cracked down mere centimeters from them.

Claude smiled at the gesture. "I think you might be a little afraid." He swung the whip, cracking him right over the left nipple, near the tattooed sigil. "Good. I love your fear."

"Gnnh!" Sebastian flinched, his skin breaking in a shallow cut, a small amount of blood being drawn to the surface, but not enough to make it run down his chest. "My fear, my tears, my pain…" he gazed at his lover, "You thrive on it."

"What sort of demon would I be if I did not?" Claude breathed, even more aroused by the man's pained expression. At least in this situation. "And let's not forget ...your humiliation~" He swung it again, and the two marks on Sebastian's body appeared like a Biblical cross. He thought it amusing and ironic.

Sebastian's eyes widened slightly. He didn't need to look to see the shape the cuts made. He could feel it all too well, burning deeper into his skin. "Please tell me that was unintentional…" he requested, almost pouting.

Claude smirked. "Oh, does it hurt?" he asked with a smirk. "Does it burn you, love—damned Prince of Hell that you are?" He approached, running a hand through his hair and kissing him.

"As a matter of fact, it does burn." He muttered into the kiss. He bit the spider's lip and tugged, "Holy symbols always do."

"I know, Malphas. Everybody knows that." He let out a low chuckle after the kiss, lightly dragging his nails down Sebastian's body and pushing him back against the bed, rubbing his groin against him. "Wouldn't it be unfortunate for you...if I got off on watching you suffer through God?"

"You are a cruel man, Claude Faustus." He said, trying to hide a small whimper. "You know how long such marks will last, burning, even if shallow…" He shifted, wiggling his bound wrists down around his rear and legs so he could move them more, hooking them around Claude's neck "I'd be feeling it for days. Could you do it? Knowing for days I'd be hiding such suffering, while having to behave yourself around our son?"

"Well...perhaps," Claude replied. "Yes, I might find that arousing, actually. But...I suppose you won't really be enjoying it...You poor thing." He kissed him again, reaching down to stroke the man's length slowly.

"Mm," Sebastian rolled his hips. He was about to make another comment, but thought better on it, as it may provoke the demon to use heaven's symbols to torture him further, and he did prefer more sinful torture.

Claude stepped back. "Well, I won't let you off that easy." He brandished the whip again, flicking it out and hitting him hard enough across the chest to spill blood this time, then another on his cheek.

The crow flinched at each strike, and let out a loud gasp. Blood began to trickle down his cheek and into his hair. "I wasn't asking to be let off easy." He smiled, stretching out before the spider, his arms above his head.

"Good," he said simply, smiling at his lover, and wrought lash upon lash upon the alabaster prince's flesh, until red flowed over white. When Sebastian was bleeding rather substantially, Claude finally lowered the whip. "...Lucky me. Two desserts in one night."

As he was whipped, Sebastian's gasps slowly had mounted to soft cries, his body arching and flinching. He opened his shimmering eyes and gazed up at Claude, "Taste me" he moaned.

"Of course," Claude murmured, pushing him back against the bed and kneeling over him. "Oh, and you taste so much better than strawberry shortcake, I must say." He took one long lick of the blood on his chest and shuddered, his erection leaking a little precum that dampened the front of his boxers slightly.

"I would hope so." Sebastian purred, shifting against the tongue gliding over his broken flesh. "Mmmm~" his member began to throb, twitching upwards and tapping against Claude's abs, a thread of precum connecting them a moment before snapping.

Claude loved that feeling, and rubbed his torso over the soft arousal, exhaling slowly. He pulled his own boxers off now. "You're so beautiful, Malphas," he told him, gazing up at him with shimmering eyes, then leaned in to drink his precious blood.

Humming pleasurably, Sebastian brought his hands down to run through Claude's hair. "Have I ever told you how much I love that tongue of yours?" he moaned.

Claude winked at him. "Your moans when I use it tell me plenty," he replied. "Like when I rim you...oh, what disgraceful noises you were making..." He rested a hand on his shoulder, moving the other one in the opposite direction, down to the man's entrance, and starting to rub it gently as he licked at his chest.

Sebastian blushed bright, "That's not the only way to draw out such…un-princely noises from my lips." He pointed out, shifting his hips to press his entrance against Claude's fingers.

"Oh, there are many ways," he whispered against his nipple, suckling it deeply. "I can tell your body is begging for me," he mewled, pressing two fingers up inside the man. "How easy it is to enter you."

"Nnh!" Sebastian began to squirm, "It's been too long since my body has had yours…of course it's begging." He moaned.

Claude had finished off most of the blood at this point. He looked Sebastian over, panting a little. "And what does it want?" he purred huskily.

"You." He breathed, moving to ride Claude's fingers, "Claude, Nnnh, put it in me…please?" he nearly begged.

"Put it in you?" Claude echoed mockingly. "Are you fifteen again, Michaelis? How about I fuck you senseless instead?"

Again, Sebastian felt his face grow hot and he adverted his gaze, "Please Claude, I don't care if I even walk funny tomorrow…or at all! Shove it in me and fuck me until I scream." He moaned desperately.

Stripping himself fully naked, Claude rubbed his erection against Sebastian's. He chuckled and shook his head in amusement, " '...put it in me '..that's good." His fingers scissor Sebastian's slick entrance, easing him open. "I'd ask you to grab the oils, but alas...your hands are bound."

"I have a—ghnn—remedy for that problem." He groaned, carefully shifting around so that he was on his hands and knees, but Claude's fingers were still teasing and stretching him. He parted his lips and took Claude's twitching member into his mouth, running his tongue along it to coat it with a healthy layer of saliva.

Claude shivered as his length slid deeply inside Sebastian's mouth. "A-ah...that's nice," he breathed, nodding his head slowly. "Fuck...yes, that feels good," he remarked.

Sebastian dragged his teeth over the large member before taking in all of him, his lips butting up firmly to Claude's hilt, his nose buried in his dark curls. The crow's throat relaxed so he wouldn't gag on the intruding member and he held it there for a moment before starting to sway his body, causing his head to bob along the shaft, and his rear to ride dark tipped fingers, a lustful growl making itself known in the back of his throat.

Claude smirked. "Aahh…careful not to get too involved with that, love...nobody told you that you could be so greedy without permission." He stroked his hair and thrust his fingers inside the man. "Nobody told you, you could drink _that_ yet."

The former butler looked up at the other in a very slight pout. But lowered his eyes, letting out a few moans as he continued to lubricate his lover. Finally, and with reluctance, Sebastian withdrew from Claude with a wet smack, strings of saliva mixed with precum connecting his lips and tongue to the tip of his lover's manhood. Purposely, he let out a seductive, lustful moan, heavy with need as he stayed on his hands and knees, looking up at Claude with a look too innocent for any demon; especially a prince, "Is that satisfactory, Master?"

Claude cocked a smirk. "Hah. I'm actually a little disappointed," he whispered, moving Sebastian over onto his back again. "I half-hoped you'd disobey, Malphas. I'd've loved to punish you. I almost gave you something _else_ to drink~" He spread Sebastian's thighs apart, probing his entrance with the head of his wet member.

His eyes widened, "You wouldn't have…" but, he knew that Claude would. Humiliation. Temporarily destroying the Prince's pride (As he would usually help rebuild it afterwards) was something the spider always looked to do when they had sex.

Claude didn't enter him just yet, drawing the moment out, only pushing inside him the tiniest bit. "Of course I would have," he winked. "Poor, innocent little Malphas, who knows so little of the fetish world, and not a thing about watersports~" he teased, raising a hand to stroke the man.

"I can already tell you I'm not into that fetish. It'd hurt my pride a little too much." He breathed, tempted to push Claude over and slam himself down onto the teasing demon. But instead, he parted his legs more, rolling his hips up so that Claude slid inside him, just a little further.

"Ah, again...how disappointing..." He leaned back, refusing to give Sebastian what he wanted. "...let's see...breathplay~?" He purred, finally starting to push himself inside the man, but at an agonizingly slow pace for Sebastian. "Do you know what that's like?" he asked huskily before he had buried himself deep inside Sebastian, where he just waited.

"I wo—LNNNHHH!" Sebastian cried out as the slow torture of slowly being stretched suddenly changed and he found himself filled completely with his lover. His head thrown back against the bed as the cry ripped from his lips. Panting, he re-gathered himself, "I think I'd enjoy that…" he panted.

Claude grinned in triumph at the cry he'd drawn from him, and he slowly started to move within him. "Not that I...care for your pride, love, but...depriving you of breath puts you in a _very_ vulnerable position~ ...of course, once the hypoxia sets in...the orgasm is...more than worth it...trust me." He gripped his hips, beginning to steady his rhythm.

"I can't…nn…tell if you are trying t-to convince me to ask for it or not…ahh." He gasped, lifting his hips to meet Claude's thrusts.

"No," replied Claude, his eyes flashing. "A little thing like you, it seems, can only handle so much." And with that, he began to move faster within him, building up a quick and heavy rhythm. He extended his claws, scratching at his hips and pounding into him roughly and mercilessly.

"What d'—Nnnnha!" Sebastian's protest was cut short, the words lost among his moans and cries of pain and pleasure, "Ghn, ahh-ahn! L-Lucifer, Cimeries! Mmhkah!"

Claude smirked to himself, but didn't relent with Sebastian. Some part of him was always a little jealous of the demon's stature, and so being denied of anything, where in a normal situation Claude would take it by force, irritated him. He happily took it out on his lover, fucking him to the core, aiming for his sweet spot and scoring his already lacerated torso.

"Haa-hnah!" the demonic prince's cries grew louder as his sweet spot was located and struck repeatedly. He writhed, squirming as he felt himself loose control of his body, heat gathering and creating pressure in his gut, "K-khh, nn, Claude! I'm cl-ose!"

Just as Sebastian was approaching his peak, Claude slowed within him, leaving him on the edge, and flashed an inhuman grin at him. "How about now, you miserable thing? Here, starving on the edge...how low is your pride now?"

Sebastian let out a whimper, his bound hands practically pawing at the larger demon's shoulder, "Please, Claude."

Claude took hold of his cock, and continued to stroke it, torturing him with such proximal release. "It's pathetic," he whispered enviously. "You...'Prince Malphas'..."

"Cimeries…." Sebastian bit his lip and looked up at him, "Please…I'm already begging…"

The man's pleading eyes eventually forced Claude's decision, and he started to move within him again, hitting his sweet spot and bringing the man back up to orgasm once more, and Sebastian's whimpers mounted into cries, his arms hooking around Claude's neck. His eyes squeezed shut and he threw his head back, his body stiffly arching up against Claude as a scream escaped his lips and the evidence of his climax coating his abs, his body trembling in pleasure before he sank back down onto the bed, a few more unintentional gasps slipping free, "Ahh-ah…"

Claude's eyes flashed as Sebastian came, and he followed suit momentarily, shooting his release inside the man. His body jerked and twitched as he came inside him, filling him to the brim. He slid out after he finished riding the orgasm, and whispered into Sebastian's ear, "Who told you, you could come first?"

Sebastian blushed, still panting, his faintly glowing eyes locking onto Claude's, "You are unsatisfied, Master?" he asked, unable to stop the corner of his lips turn upwards, "You were just so good I couldn't help but release first."

"Next time I might have to punish you, replied the spider demon, pushing his hair back off his forehead. He sat up, reaching for his boxers, then went and sought out some orange flannel pyjamas.

Sebastian chuckled, "I might look forward to it." He teased, groaning as he pushed himself up, "My dear spidery lover. Would you mind removing your web from my wrists so that I may dress myself in case Elijah comes in to wake us up in the morning?"

Claude nodded, walking over and tearing the web apart, dropping it aside. "What are your plans for the rest of the night, Sebastian?" he asked, adjusting his glasses slowly.

"Dress myself, then spend a more quiet night with you, not having a five-year-old buffer laying between us." He suggested, "Or maybe enjoy some tea."

Claude rubbed his forehead. "I find myself in dark spirits," he remarked. "If you don't mind...I wish to spend some time alone. Perhaps play some music, with just my thoughts for company." He finished dressing.

"Very well, tea it is." Sebastian nodded, cleaning himself off and pulling on his silky black pajamas, "Would you like a cup before you are left alone?"

Claude declined politely, leaving a gentle kiss on his head. At least it was not unusual between them to need some time to be isolated, as demons preferred to be. He absconded, taking to the windowed music room. Before starting up with his violin, he took a while to practice his ballet. He did not dance much anymore—which he firmly insisted was not due to self-consciousness—and now that he was alone, it was an ideal opportunity without that smirking man at his side.

Sebastian made his way down to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea before wandering the large estate, finally settling himself in the Library and picking up a book that he had been reading, curling up on a comfortable sofa to read. Ciel's ring on his finger catching the firelight from the candles he had lit. He always wore it in memory of the one master he had grown to genuinely care about. For a few months, the ring would often catch his eye and stir up emotions, but he had all but come to terms with the boy's death.

Eventually, Claude stopped, and stared out the window. It had been ten months since Elijah had been born, and...it had really been perfect, up to this point. Being with Sebastian, and the child that shouldn't exist...Claude had not been bored with his existence in that time. It had been worth it. But, he thought as he rested his hands against the cold glass and stared out into the fields below, how long would the happiness last, for a trio of ill-fated demons, before it all came crashing down?

It was a clear, dark night, stars twinkling bright in the moonless sky, and with no moon to shed light, the grounds were pitch black, everything engulfed in shadow. There was no way to see the dark figures materializing on the property around the house until the shadows seemed to shift, darkening the sky more and blotting out the stars, the air growing thick with demonic auras. The figures started towards the Manor, drawing in close, the silence deadly without the crickets or frogs breaking the silence. Even an owl quieted down and took flight.

Claude felt it suddenly, and saw the shadows approaching through the glass. He ported to Sebastian's side, finding him by the fireplace. "It's happened. They're coming," he breathed, his skin unnaturally pale, betraying his fear. " _They know_."

The book dropped from Sebastian's hand, thumping heavily to the floor. With his mind no longer distracted, he could feel it too; hundreds of demons fresh from Hell itself. He leapt to his feet, "We have to hide Avnas! If they can't find him, they have no case!"

"Where?" Claude demanded, having already broken into a run and flew to Elijah's room. "Where can we possibly hide him?" He found the boy, resting, and yanked him up into his arms, the boy's favored toy duck came with him.

"I…I'm not sure!" Sebastian said, running up after him and glancing out the window at the approaching hoard of demons, "Fuck! Think we can summon a portal to send him away quick enough?"

The boy blinked awake, "Daddy?" he muttered, still half asleep.

"Get down to the basement," Claude ordered, kissing Elijah's head and already running down there as fast as he could.

Sebastian followed close behind, red eyes glancing out windows they passed, watching the number of demons grow outside the house. Once they reached the first floor, Sebastian sprinted to the door leading to the basement and opened the door, holding it for Claude and Elijah before following them in and closing the door, murmuring a quick spell to ward the door. It was weak, but it might hide their location long enough for them to get Elijah to safety.

Elijah was wide awake, at that point, and his grip tightened on Claude's pajama shirt, his eyes wide as he felt the dark aura surrounding the house, "What's happening, Father?"

"We need to get you to a safe place. They can't find you." Sebastian said, running the rest of the way down the steps and throwing furniture aside to make space for the portal, "You'll be a good boy and wait safely, right?"

The boy nodded.

Claude held Elijah protectively, murmuring soothingly to him in the demon tongue, and making him hold the toy tight to his chest. "Don't you leave Mr. Ducky behind, okay? He's your friend. You keep him close," he whispered. He could feel demons in the house now, growing ever closer. "Damn it, hurry up, Sebastian."

"As it is I won't know where this thing will take him." he hissed. He had cut open his palm and was using his blood to draw a sigil upon the stone floor. Once it was done, he stood up and began to chant in the demon tongue, pouring his powers into opening a portal as quickly as he could.

Elijah watched, pulling his toy up to his face to hide the tears that were forming. He didn't want to go…not without his parents. But he knew they couldn't go with him. Not with a portal the size they could make in such limited time. And he knew that they were protecting him. It was important to them that he go.

"Doesn't matter, we'll find him again," he told him. "The toy's a tracked object. Long as he keeps it I'll find him, and even if he doesn't I'll—" He glanced up as demons suddenly came into the room, and he cursed, holding Elijah close.

"They're trying to run." A demon snapped in a gruff voice.

"HAULT!" Another demon flew at Sebastian, claws out, and tackled him.

With his concentration broken, the portal that had started to form vanished. "No!" He glared at the demon, a dangerous growl sounding from his throat.

"You have no power right now, Prince Malphas." A large demon said, stepping forward out of the crowd of surrounding demons, making his rank clear; He wasn't a solder like the rest, but a general, "Even a prince looses rights when he must stand trial."

He snapped his fingers and his underlings stepped forward, some grabbing Sebastian and binding his arms behind his back, others approaching Claude and the boy, ripping them apart from each other's hold. A task that proved somewhat difficult as the boy refused to let go and began to kick and growl at the demons, even biting one before he, too, was bound as a prisoner.

"Prince Malphas, Mage Cimeries, You are both hereby charged with the creation and raising of an abomination without properly disposing of it before it's entry into the world of Demons. By order of the royals and by duty placed upon me by the laws of our world, you are to be escorted back to Hell's court for trial." He paused and looked down his nose at Elijah, "Of which I do say the evidence against you is quite unfortunate. It's unlikely you'll get out of this one."

Claude shook his head in disbelief, as he had been bound with magic to prevent him from using any. Once he'd been taken, his hope seemed to have drained. They'd been caught, captured. And he couldn't help but wonder _how._ Carefully glaring at all of them, baring rows of teeth angrily, he tried not to struggle or he'd be punished worse. "Hell's court," he whispered. "There's no defense argument there, only a prosecution."

"Yes, usually." The General smirked, turning proudly on his heel, "But there is a small chance you'll have a chance. Malphas is one of their brothers, after all. It would be a shame to loose a member of the royal circle before his Illness takes him from them, after all. So few demons are of royal blood."

"Stop struggling you little abomination!" one of the demons holding Elijah snapped, hitting the boy hard across the side of his head, sending him falling to the ground.

Sebastian tried to jerk away from the demons holding him, "He wasn't even moving!"

Claude shrieked at them, hurling his body forward against his restraints, . He wouldn't tolerate for someone touching his child in such a manner. A black shadow flew from his mouth towards the soldier, but it was quickly forced back inside him as his magic bindings activated. Something similar to electricity shocked through his body and made him scream. For his actions he was promptly kicked to the ground. The demons were already making up a Hell portal to take them away—and Elijah would be killed.

Sebastian bit his tongue hard to keep himself from making a mistake. If there was the slightest chance that they could defend themselves…to save Elijah…he needed to behave like the prince he was and not cause himself to be dragged in before the other princes in a lowly manner; degrading to his pride and status. He hated it. He always hated how he had to act while in Hell, especially around the other royals, but now it was more than his pride at stake; but the very living forces of his entire family.

He couldn't blame Elijah for crying openly. He, himself, felt like doing so. So he didn't tell the boy not to and settled with glaring at the demons holding him, silently warning them that if he had his way and they got out of this alive; that he would hunt each of them down himself.

The portal was finally opened and the three prisoners were shoved through, straight into the center of Hell's Court. Higher demons lined the room, waiting to witness the judgment and punishment of the criminals. Along the front was a raised platform where six of seven seats behind a table were occupied by demons towering over all others in the room. The last seat, being the place Sebastian had always sat when he was able to make it back to Hell for a trial. Something he hadn't been able to do in over a hundred years. It almost felt strange how he had to stay in the center rather than take his seat among his royal brothers. Yet, he kept his head held high, letting his pride hide all his emotions, his shames, as he met the cold gaze head on of the other princes.

* * *

To be continued...


	26. Chapter 26

Claude tried to stay close to Elijah and Sebastian, his relationship to both of them was condemned. Not the Unholy Prince, not the abomination child. He had no hope for the trial. Maybe Sebastian might scrape through, but not him. Not a lower class. And certainly not his child. Seeing Elijah clutching his toy and weeping made his eyes prickle, but he held it back, just. He held his head high, meeting the eyes of all the demons, trying to seem brave. All he could do was wait in the silence for his punishment to fall upon him.

It wasn't fair, damn it.

"Malphas." One of the Princes spoke up, causing the surprised murmurs of the crowd to end, "You know the rules of the court. Regardless of rank, we expect you to follow them."

The crow nodded and watched as his Royal brothers turned their eyes upon Elijah, a look of disgust on their faces.

"This is your child, Malphas?" one asked.

"Yes." Sebastian nodded. Lying would be pointless and only cause a more painful punishment. There were spells and sigils on the center of the room, those standing in it would be painfully punished for any lies he or she told. And no demon has ever been able to hide the pain.

"And the Mage, Cimeries? He is your…concubine?"

"No."

The royals raised their eyebrows, "Then what is he to you, brother?"

"…He is my lover, and the only reason I am even still alive today."

The seated royals looked at each other, discussing the difference between a lover and a concubine."

"Do you mean to say…you have formed a weakness in such human emotions such as…love?"

"I don't deny it."

The courtroom exploded with whispers until another prince got over his shock and spoke; "How?"

"…I am unsure. But originally we thought it to be side-effects of my…illness." He said. His brother's had known of it, but it was unknown to most other demons.

"Aeterna Fames." The demon said with a nod, "That is unfortunate enough for one of our own, Malphas. But…Love? An abomination? That's too much shame. I can't even recognize your pride any longer."

It wasn't a question, but a statement, so Sebastian stayed silent.

The red gaze of the Princes moved over to Claude, "Lets see if you are as truthful as he is, Mage Cimeries. Is that child yours?"

Claude met their gaze calmly. "The child is mine," he replied, also seeing no point in lying. "It wasn't intentional, of course. We know the rules as well as you. And believe me...we tried to abort it," he told them, not daring a glance at Sebastian. "Due to my bloodline trait as a demon of spiders, I risked killing the Prince if I punctured the amniotic sac." Seeing the confused look on some of their faces, he hissed, "Look it up. And any book on my family history will prove I tell no lies. Abortion was impossible. We had to carry the child to term."

"Hold your tone, Mage. Don't think because you have been bedded by a Prince that you may speak so disrespectfully to us."

"Why not kill the child after it is born if it was unable to be aborted?"

Claude snarled a little, but nodded. "That's the big question, isn't it?" he replied. "It's not as if it wasn't within our power to kill him. No matter our circumstances...we chose to keep it. Knowing what our punishments would be if it was discovered. That is the truth."

"Claude…" Sebastian whispered in warning.

But his warning was covered by another Prince who slammed his hands on the table and stood up, glaring down his nose at the spider, "Hold your tone, Mage! We'll not remind you again and you will be more severally punished for your crimes should you snarl again!"

A guard hit Claude's cranium hard. Claude had not seen it coming, and fell hard to his knees, feeling blood running down his back. He coughed a little. "It's...the truth," he choked out. "We kept the child, in the end, because we believed there was no reason the child had to die." Were they even listening, or just waiting for a chance to smack him again? 'Fucking twits,' he thought irritably.

Elijah gasped, "Father!" He tried to run to Claude, but even stomping on his guard's foot wouldn't make him let go.

"Be quiet! No abomination will ever speak it's mind in this court!"

"I am not an 'abomination'! I'm a demon!" he cried.

"Demons don't cry."

"Shut up." Another prince hissed.

"Elijah, love…" Sebastian held his finger up to his lips, pleading with him to obey.

"Malphas. Because you are our brother…and you most likely only further suffering your illness, we will give you and your Mage a single chance to keep your statuses and continue living as normal a life as you can before you are taken by it."

With a snap of his fingers, the bindings fell off Sebastian and Claude, allowing them full movement once more, but their powers still locked, "Right your wrong and kill the child now."

"NO!" Sebastian forgot himself and gasped, running over to the boy and pulling him into his arms protectively.

"You are ill, Malphas. Your judgment is clouded." Their eyes moved to Claude, "The offer is also yours, Cimeries. You can save yourself and your mate by killing your abomination of a child."

Sevastian's eyes watered, tears threatening to fall. He knew he had agreed to let Claude kill Elijah if they had to, but he had grown far more attached to the boy than he ever thought possible. He looked up at Claude where he was kneeling on the floor holding their son.

Claude looked at the rest of the court, and strode over to Elijah and Sebastian, every footstep echoing loudly over the silent hall.

He stared down at the sobbing child and knelt, pulling the child to his chest and holding him close.

"Like I said...aside from 'because the law says so'...I cannot find a reason why this child should die. There is not an ounce of difference between him and a natural-born child. He is the same as them," he said firmly, staring over Elijah's shoulder at the court.

"Claude…" Sebastian's tears finally fell down his cheek. He had been sure Claude retained his coldness for the child. He had been wrong. The spider really had fallen soft, just like he had. He loved Elijah just as much as he did…and how Elijah loved them back.

The boy hid his face in Claude's shoulder, clinging to both his fathers, "They'll hurt you again." He sobbed.

"…Disgusting." Again, the princes turned to each other, taking part in another privet conversation.

"I'm sorry, Claude…Elijah…This...is the end for us all." Sebastian choked out quietly.

Claude held the boy close, leaning over and kissing Sebastian passionately. "It was exciting though, wasn't it," he remarked, feeling his own eyes run unchecked. "My single regret is that Avnas did not get to live a long time." He hitched the boy and his toy duck onto his hip, rising to his feet.

"I won't die on my knees, Malphas, love, and neither should you."

Taking his lover's hand, Sebastian stood up, "We…die as a family, then." He nodded, reaching up to rub the tears from his son's face, "Be brave." He whispered to him and Elijah gave a small nod.

"Brave like both my fathers." He said, though he couldn't stop his eyes from leaking more tears.

"…Are you three quite done acting so disgraceful?"

Claude sneered. They were going to kill him either way. What did it matter how he went?

"Get on with it then," he replied. "I will never kill my child, nor will Malphas. So just...move it along."

"It is a crime to harm or kill a recognized member of Hell's royals. And Malphas has been recognized from his birth. Even the court will not—"

"You can not kill my family and leave me to suffer. I'll die with them." Sebastian interrupted."

"Don't interrupt!" a prince snapped, "The court will not be responsible for one of our own's deaths. And as we are placing you and your…lover, on trial together, you both will suffer the same fate. But we are not happy with the only choice you left us. Therefore, we have included a way for you to redeem yourself and your proper place alongside us, should you do so before your illness overwhelms you."

"We hereby exile you both from Hell. Strict Banishment. This would be repealed at any time should you go through with killing the abomination. Bring us proof of his death and you shall be restored as Mage and Prince. Any attempt to return without such proof would result in it's execution, leaving you no possible way of returning.

Claude pursed his lips. What a deal this was! Even if he was no longer recognized as a Mage, what did he care? He hated Hell. He loved Earth. He loved nature, and Sebastian, and Elijah.

He squeezed the boy in his arms, kissing his forehead. "What's the catch?" he asked. Surely such a good offer wouldn't come so keenly. "I suppose I'm free game for demons, huh? My son and I?" This was what he'd subjected himself to, choosing to keep his child. He'd always have to watch his back.

Sebastian couldn't believe it. Not only was he aloud to live; but He got to keep his lover and son with him. Yet…to loose his standing over other demons… it made his stomach twist painfully.

"Indeed, you and your….son will be seen fully as an enemy. Should you cross the path of another demon, they are free to do as they wish. You are nothing. Lower than the lowest ranks. And he will be killed on sight should he step foot within Hell."

"You will be marked as outcaste demons by having your demonic powers sealed away. You wish to act human, have a family, disgrace yourselves…you can do it the human way."

Sebastian's eyes widened, "Then you still sentence me to death. He is the reason my illness hasn't yet killed me."

"That is your fate killing you. Not us, Malphas."

Claude just shook his head. "Move it along then. I have a kettle on at home," he replied loftily, hitching Elijah a little further on his hip. "Send us back."

Sebastian looked at him, squeezing his hand.

"Seal them…all three of them." One of the princes said as they all stood up to leave the courtroom, "Malphas…we are extremely disappointed in you." He said before walking out.

Demons seized the family, dragging them back into a dark torture chamber, lit by torches. A Mage joined them, readying himself to seal away their powers.

Claude kept his head down as he felt his powers being suppressed beneath a powerful seal. It was an awful torture for him, like nothing else, because he thrived to use magic as a Mage himself. He wouldn't be separated from Elijah, but the child's powers were sealed too. He struggled not to fall to his knees, forcing himself to remain upright and dignified.

Sebastian stood as proud as he could while his powers were locked, though he could feel himself grow weaker, and feel his illness feeling so much closer to settling back upon him. He took a shaky breath; regretting his former master's death even more.

Elijah, being so young and still not completely developed with his powers, gave off a whimper, "It feels strange! I don't like this!" he said, but behaved and stood still.

Claude snarled as they were done and demanded to be sent back home. And he went rather pitifully, his head hung as he had been stripped of all his magical abilities. Judged by the demons for eternity. He left Sebastian's side once their portal to the human realm was formed—they weren't even given the decency of being returned to his home—it was some field, a few kilometers out. And he didn't run home, he just walked, even though it was raining, he sheltered Elijah and kept him warm as he trudged back to his house, little better than a human.

The crow followed behind, pulling his thin pajama top around himself more, "Elijah…I want you to take a warm bath when we get home. I don't know if they sealed away our immunities to human ailments and I don't want to risk you catching a cold." He said after a while of walking.

The boy nodded, shivering and clinging to Claude tighter. "Yes, Father."

Claude said nothing, walking miserably along. Unbeknownst to Sebastian, tears were running down his cheeks, but he hid them in the rain, just holding Elijah as though he was the most precious thing in the world. Finally, he reached his house, and entered it. He set Elijah down in the living room and walked off without a word.

Watching Claude walk off, the dethroned prince frowned and closed the door, locking it. He then scooped the shivering boy into his arms to take him up to a bathroom and started to draw a bath, not saying a word as the boy climbed in and he began to help clean Elijah.

Elijah looked up at his father as he was placed into the lovely warm water. "Father," he said softly, reaching for the man's hand. "Did I do something bad? Is everyone in trouble because of me? Am I...an abomination?"

"No…no you did nothing wrong. And don't ever think you are an abomination! They…just don't know the truth…they don't understand. You, Claude and I…we aren't the same as them…we know how to love, and love scares them…it used to scare Claude and I too, but…" he sighed, realizing he was rambling, and he pulled the boy into a hug against his already soaked chest. "You did nothing wrong, love."

Elijah bit his lip and pouted, puffing his cheeks a little. "...But Claude is so sad! And you were so sad. I'm not stupid," he said, looking up with big, bright orange eyes. "I know it's my fault, and I am very, very sorry." Even as a child, he knew it was his fault, and he wished he had not been born so his fathers would not be sad again.

"No…it's…jus hard on us…" he cupped the boy's cheeks, "We both love you dearly, Avnas. No matter what had happened in that courtroom tonight…It was loosing you we feared the most. Loosing you would have made us both the saddest anyone could be. It's not your fault. We acted greedily and kept you knowing we could get into trouble. And we were caught somehow. It's our fault."

Elijah sniffed a little and looked down, settling into the bath and waiting for his father to help wash him. "...I-Is Claude going to be alright? He feels different. His aura feels different. I think he is very upset they took his magic away, Father." He pushed his violet bangs off his forehead.

"…Its…unfair they took his powers, if that's what he's dwelling on…" he said, shampooing his hair and massaging it in gently before rinsing the suds out again, "He…needs them…and I kind of need him to have them…" they had never told Elija about his illness. It hadn't seemed important at the time, after all. He wasn't going to have attacks for a while, and Claude had a chance at finding a cure before Elijah found out or needed to be told. They hadn't wanted him to worry.

"Cause you have an illness," Elijah said softly. "I figured it out a long time ago." He turned to face his father, resting a soapy hand against his cheek. "It's okay, da—father. You should take your wet clothes off and hop in with me! You might get sick too...that would make me and Claude very sad."

Sebastian gave a small, sad smile, "You are such a smart boy, Elijah…" he stood up and stripped down, climbing into the large tub with him and returning to scrubbing his skin, "How'd you find out?"

Elijah snuggled up and leaned against him. "I just...observed things...and asked questions. Like how you got together. And learning about the demon history...a Prince, and a Mage? Frowned upon. I know Claude heals things, too. I can put two and two together." He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. My fathers are strong enough for me."

Sebastian paused in helping to lather up the boy's skin with soap and held him, burying his nose in the boy's damp, clean hair that smelled faintly of shampoo. "You're such a good boy, Elijah. We should have known you'd find out about my condition…" he withdrew the boy from him, trying to hold back his fresh tears, "Without Claude's ability to make me his remedy that helps hold back my illness, I will die. And it could be soon. You'll be a good boy and watch over your father when that happens, right?"

Elijah stared up at him, his eyes immediately filling with tears and his lip trembling. "Nooo," he whined, putting his tiny arms around Sebastian's muscular chest. "Nooo, father, you can't, you can't," he wept. "You can't leave me and Claude alone!"

"This is why we hadn't told you." He said sadly, "Claude had been trying to find a cure, but…without his powers, even if he could find it…we'd need a medical mage, and none would dare help us now…" he trailed off, holding the boy tighter, "I think…even God knows how much I don't want to leave you two…" he choked out.

"God?" Elijah sniffed, still hugging his little body to his father. "Then why won't he be nice and let us be happy?" He wrapped his arms and legs around Sebastian's arm, clinging tightly. "I won't let my Father die. Somehow...I will help!"

"We are far from his graces of caring. We never will be. They," he nodded upwards, "Are just as stubborn in their ways as our kind is. Besides…Aeterna Fames is a demonic illness; they wouldn't touch it, even if, for some reason, they could help me stay with you and Claude longer. Our only chance would be to unlock Claude's powers somehow."

Elijah wept quietly for a few minutes. He was very intelligent, but still only a child, and he felt helpless. "I am a good boy. A good demon. I do not sin much! Maybe I can make God be on our side, to save my fathers so I am not alone," he sniffed. "I will the best child ever and ask God to save you!"

"You are a demon, still." Sebastian shook his head, cupping his face, "The only way to reach him is to pray. And trust me. it burns to do so…" he glanced away, "I prayed until my hands bleed and I passed out from it when I first was told I had Aeterna Fames…It isn't worth putting faith in a being who won't even listen."

Elijah sniffled. "...What do people do in this situation?" he wept. "I may not be able to do much then, but I am sure Claude will not simply let you die. He has helped you for this long, father! He will not let you down!" He completely wrapped himself around Sebastian's arm now, entwining his legs around the limb.

"He'll do what he can…but without his powers…" he wrapped his free arm around the boy's shoulders firmly, "The only thing we could do is wait, hope, and look for a way to unlock his powers. And hope that we can before I start having attacks again."

Elijah was silent for a moment before mumbling, "I would like to go to sleep now. I'm tired," he said softly, nuzzling his teary cheeks against Sebastian's bicep. "Please take me to bed father, and bring me some warm milk and honey?"

Sebastian nodded and took back his arm, rinsing the boy off before picking him out of the tub and toweling him dry. He put the boy into fresh pajamas and picked him up, "Would you like your own bed, or to sleep with us?" he asked.

"My fathers," he said instantly, picking up his toy duck as well which had been kept dry on the walk home somehow. "Please make Claude come sleep with us too." He hid his face. He knew he had been crying a lot, which his parents had always discouraged. He had what they would call an 'unseemly face' at this time.

"I'll see what I can do." He nodded and carried him to the master bedroom, tucking the boy in and kissing his cheek before making his way to the kitchen to warm some milk. He added honey to it once it was done and carried the glass up to the bedroom.

Elijah sat up in the middle of the large bed and thanked his father, sipping at the milk. He drank about half before getting up to go about his nightly rituals while Sebastian went to find Claude.

Knowing that the spider demon often sought solitude in the music room, Sebastian walked there, knocking gently at the door and waiting for a response.

There was no response from Claude, except in front of the door a little spider lowered itself in front of Sebastian's face, its stance defensive as if it did not want Sebastian to enter.

Sebastian sighed, "Claude, if you are in there...Elijah would like it if you would come to bed soon." he called through the door.

"Go away," came the dark, unhappy response from quite some distance away, his voice muffled.

"…Alright…but…" he sighed, resting his forehead on the door next to the spider, "…Cimeries…I'm sorry…"

"Malphas…" There was a silence after that, followed a minute later by the sound of soft weeping inaudible to anything but demon's ears.

The crow grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut at the sound. and then, pretending he didn't hear his lover's crying, he spoke again in a strained voice, "...I'm going to bed with our son...join us when...you feel up to it." he lingered for a moment longer before pulling away from the door, "Good night."

Elijah was saddened when Sebastian didn't return with Claude, but he abided by Claude's wishes to be left alone and curled up with Sebastian instead. He couldn't sleep properly without Claude there, however, when he did he had bad dreams, so had to keep waking Sebastian when he got scared.

Sebastian held the boy close, soothing him when he had nightmares and lulling him back to sleep with a soft lullaby he had sang to Elijah when he was an infant still. At least, that was what he did at first. Upon the tenth time of being awoken by the boy, he sat up, pulling him to his chest, "What is it your dreams show that scares you so much?"

Elijah was distraught at this point, and weakly sobbed out something about shadows and monsters and teeth. He said his nightmares were not usually so bad, but tonight they were horrifying. He was drenched in sweat and trembling after the latest one. "M-make them s-s-stop, d-daddy," he pleaded.

"…Shadows? Teeth?" His eyes widened, and he threw the covers off them, gathering the boy in his arms hurrying down to the music room once more, "Claude?"

Elijah didn't understand why Sebastian was panicking, and when Claude sensed the fear in his voice, he let the doors swing open. The moonlight provided the only light in the room, illuminating a silhouette of the spider demon slumped over the piano, with a near empty bottle of absinthe at his side. "What...is it?"

"I…think it's the void." Sebastian said in a harsh whisper, walking into the room and holding the boy tight. "They are in Elijah's dreams…"

Elijah held his hands out to Claude, sniffling. The demon didn't even raise his head. "...I find that...unlikely..." he said in a soft voice. "There's no...he's never..."

"Never…what, Claude? Never been told about them? That's why I think its is very likely! He knows nothing of them, yet he just described them to me perfectly! He's been waking up all night from them.

Claude sat up, pushing his messy hair off his forehead in a neat motion and getting to his feet, swaying a little. "There is no way, no reason they would prey on him," he hissed. "Don't ever speak like that, needlessly jumping to conclusions and scaring people unnecessarily! Our lives are ruined enough as it is." He took Elijah into his arms, who clung desperately to him.

"…And just how much have you drank this night, hmm? I wouldn't make this up. He said his dreams are filled with shadows, monsters and teeth. You of all of us should know what the void are like, and they can't take our boy from us! We've lost much, yes, but we have each other. I'll not risk Elijah."

"What shall I do then?" Claude asked, reaching for the bottle and draining the last of it away.

"If he is marked, they will take him as they took my brother. They'll devour his mind, and we cannot—"

"No!" Elijah cried out. "I don't want to be eaten! I don't want to be taken!"

Sebastian glared, "After all we sacrificed just to keep our son, you go and say things like that as if it was nothing? There has to be a way to save him! Apart from you, he is the only thing I care about anymore, Cimeries. And I may be doomed, but he doesn't have to be!"

Claude simply struck Sebastian across the cheek then. "You are not dying. I won't let you. You're the reason I'm in this situation, I will not be left alone to deal with the backlash." He swayed a little again, and Elijah had been stunned to silence. "Do you hear me? ...If he is marked, there is little I can do, so you'd better pray until your hands bleed that this is not the case."

Sebastian's eyes were wide as his head lingered in it's turned position, his gaze casting downward, "…We are forsaken by Hell, and the only 'help' Heaven would grant us is death." He looked up at Claude, "We are left to ourselves." He turned on his heel, "Fine, you find a way to save me without your bloody powers, Mage. I'll deal with saving our son!" he walked out, slamming the door behind him. On his way out the door, he grabbed an umbrella and a trench coat, pulling it on before stepping out into the rain.

Claude walked over to the window, watching Sebastian. "...Where does he think he's going?" he wondered, then closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, looking down at his son. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Avnas. It is not proper to hit when you are angered."

Elijah looked up at him tearfully, "…Can you? Can you still save him?" he asked finally after a long silence, choosing to ignore how he had seen his father hit Sebastian, "And…what's a 'Void'?" he trembled when he asked, clinging tighter to Claude.

Claude rested his large hand against Elijah's back, rubbing it lightly. "Perhaps. And it's a very bad thing, son. But... no way such a terrible thing could take interest in a little child like you. I think…most likely...you are scared because you went to Hell for the first time and saw things that Sebastian and I take for granted, but terrify you."

The boy rested his cheek on his father's shoulder, "Then why did Sebastian think it was a 'Void'?" he asked, hugging his duck tightly.

Claude kissed the top of his head. "He's spooked. It's not as if shadows and monsters and teeth are things belonging solely to the Void. You should not worry your little head about it, Elijah. Be glad you are alive."

Elijah nodded, "I don't want to go back to bed. It's still scary." He looked up at Claude, "Can I stay up…just this once, Father?"

Claude looked at him, then nodded. "Very well. What do you wish to do, son?" It was tempting to keep drinking—absinthe was strong enough to even affect demons.

"Can I stay with you?" He asked after thinking about it, "Maybe you can teach me funner stuff? Sebastian said you dance sometimes…"

"But I fear I am not in the right spirit to dance," Claude replied sullenly. Not looking at him, he added, "Your father is very, very unhappy right now."

Elijah hugged his father, pressing his forehead to his, "Can I help?"

Claude was silent, holding the little boy close and sitting back down at the piano. "I..I honestly don't know, Elijah. I don't think anything can help."

"There has to be help." Elijah took Claude's hand, "Sebastian can't die! And…and I don't like you being so sad!"

Claude was silent for a minute. "Don't you listen for a minute when he speaks that way." He reached over to the table and grabbed some whiskey. It would affect him a little, but not immensely. "He's not dying. Now, you are not even a year old, physically. These problems are not for you to concern yourself with."

"He's sick, though." Tears prickled his eyes, "And…I think he's scared…" he rubbed his eyes before his tears could fall, trying to dry them.

Claude opened the bottle and took it straight. He shook his head, patting his son's back.  
"Even if I am stripped to nothing...your father isn't dying. I promise. And nothing is taking you away. You may not be very fond of me, but I...will still protect you both. I still...love you both."

"Father…" he moved forward, hugging Claude's middle, "I love you the same as Sebastian! You're both my fathers, and I want to help!"

"Stop...being loud. I'll work things out," Claude replied. "Come. Show me your violin skills. Have you learnt that Third Concerto yet?" he enquired, eager to change the subject.

Nodding sadly, Elijah set his duck down and got up, walking over to where his violin was kept in a case and pulling it out, walking over to the music stand. He hadn't yet learned to memorize the music. After making sure it was still tuned, he began to play. The soft melody filling the room as he played. Claude walked over and sat beside him with a cello and he joined in with him. Music helped him take his mind of things, even though he couldn't remember the last time he'd been so empty and miserable.

Elijah couldn't afford to let his mind wander, wanting to impress his father. He didn't want to make a mistake; after all, if he could make Claude proud of him, then Claude would be just a little happier for a moment. He pressed on through the song, trying his hardest not to hit a wrong note, loose his tempo, or, Lucifer forbid, he cause the interment to make a horrible screech like he had the first few times he had picked it up.

Oddly enough, though, Claude didn't expect Elijah to be perfect. Not in the way Sebastian did. The child made mistakes sometimes…and that was alright. He was not a butler, just a boy. In the rapid part just before the end, his trained ear did pick up a few off notes, but he said nothing and praised Elijah for mastering such a piece after having only practiced a few times.

"Very well done, Elijah. All you have to keep in mind is, there are human savants who can hear a piece once and play it flawlessly. You have to be better than the humans, that's all."

The boy nodded and offered a small smile at his father, "I'm still a demon, just like you and Sebastian. So I want to be perfect like you two, too!"

"Yes," replied Claude. "One day, you will be. I think...I will always be proud of you, you know. Even if you don't become what we expect." He led the child back over to the piano where his toy was, and Claude's whiskey. He started drinking again, absentmindedly holding the child by the hand.

"I…just want to help…" he took his toy duck and looked out the window at the raindrops hitting the glass, "I hope Sebastian comes back soon…"

Claude groaned. Elijah was growing repetitive. "Just be good," he muttered. "The idiot will come back soon enough, sick with a cold at this rate. Come on...let's go to sleep, and I promise I will protect you from the nightmares, okay?"

The boy bit his lip, nervous about going to bed again. But he nodded, squeezing his father's hand.

Claude could at least make some things by pure knowledge alone, and he prepared a drink which would let Elijah rest easy. He often took it himself sometimes, when he dreamed about the Void, and sure enough, Elijah was fast asleep in minutes. Claude curled up with him in the warm bed, and drifted off to the sound of the rain on the windows and roof. He wished all that had happened that night had been a dream. But he was also grateful that Elijah had survived the day.

* * *

To be continued...


	27. Chapter 27

Sebastian ended up staying out the rest of the night, walking around London. His mind filled with heavy thoughts about what had happened that night, about Elijah, Claude, the possible Void problem…and his fate that would rip him away from his lover and son. The thought made his blood boil.

It was then that he walked across a reaper, finishing up an early-morning collection as the sun began to rise behind grey clouds. He paused in his mindless travels and watched the reaper work, watched the cinematic records playing as the reaper drew them into his scythe. The sight tugging at his heart as he imagined himself in the human's position, being pulled away from his family forever.

And then his gaze moved to the reaper, and his eyes narrowing. His illness…it had originated as the Reaper's Thorns of Death and had mutated into Aeterna Fames somehow; generations before he had ever been born. It was their fault that the illness existed within Hell…and if anyone knew a treatment, it would be them.

The crow turned on his heel and began his walk back to the manor, a plan already forming in his mind. He wouldn't be taken from his family.

He arrived home and walked into the entry hall, shedding his wet coat and hanging it up, his umbrella put back into it's place by the door. He then walked to the kitchen where Elijah was watching Claude make breakfast.

That morning, Elijah wore nothing beside one of Claude's shirts. Elijah had been careless and accidentally soiled his cute little outfit that morning, so a scarcely-awake Claude had dumped him in the shower for ten minutes and pulled him into a clean shirt he had lying around, then given him a brief reprimand. Before they walked into the kitchen making Caribbean banana fritters for breakfast, in much better spirits than the previous night. Snug up in the shirt he'd been given, Elijah sat happily by Claude's side, listening to the yummy-smelling recipe and accepting batter whenever he was given any.

Claude turned to glance at Sebastian he entered. "Ah…he returned."

Sebastian nodded, "I needed some time to think." He said, walking over and kissing Elijah's temple, "I shouldn't have just ran out on you. But I think it may have done us some good."

Claude just raised an eyebrow at the way he carelessly strolled in. "What you did was stupid," he told his lover as Elijah latched onto Sebastian's arm, a habit he was starting to get into.

"Stupid, and risky, and you could have gotten sick." He walked over and started to making coffee from the freshly brewed pot.

"I took my coat and an umbrella." He shrugged, "And I came back just fine, so no harm done." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Claude, letting Elijah attach himself, "Were you worried?"

" _Of course_ I was worried," Claude replied irritably, frowning and turning away from him to make them both the bitter but rejuvenating substance. He felt genuinely tired and wondered if it was to do with their loss of magic. But coffee would do them some good.

Elijah wrapped his little legs around the demon's arm. "Father's coooold," he whined quietly.

"I'm fine, Elijah." Sebastian said, though he did feel unusually cold, he then turned to Claude, "I am sorry for worrying you, love."

Claude said nothing for a minute, remaining stiff and silent in the way that he often did when he got angry. He handed one of the cups to his partner sulkily when he was done.

"Here. It might warm you up and least." Elijah slid off Sebastian's arm and back onto the counter with a little thud, crawling over to reach for some batter.

Sebastian automatically reached over and grabbed the color of the shirt the boy was wearing, "You shouldn't crawl on the counters. And you should wait for breakfast like a good boy." He said, sipping the coffee and letting the warm drink linger in his mouth warming him before he swallowed.

Elijah pouted a little, but nodded, sitting back down and pressing the long shirt into his lap. Claude said nothing, taking a sip of his own coffee and yawning a little before getting back to work on breakfast. "...You don't have to join us for breakfast if you wish. It's on the sweeter side, I'm afraid," he said sullenly.

The crow frowned, "I actually feel…hungry for once…not for souls, but…" he sighed, "I feel I should try to eat something at least."

The tension between them made Claude irritable, and he wanted to get rid of it. He took the latest batch of fritters out to cool and told Elijah to behave, while he pulled Sebastian into a different room. He pushed him against the wall, staring him in the eyes for a moment without saying a word.

Sebastian allowed the treatment, looking up into golden eyes, "If you have something to say, I'd like to hear it." He said after a moment of silence.

Claude's jaw set, and he stared hard at him a little longer before leaning in and brushing his lips against Sebastian's. "I don't know if talking will help," he remarked, his tongue lightly running over the soft red lips of his partner.

"It might help…a little…" he muttered against his soft lips, "I was going to ask to speak with you once Elijah's busy with his studies for the morning…" he slid his hands down Claude's sides and rested them upon his hips.

Claude rested a hand above his head, pressing his body against Sebastian's, and meeting his lips in a fierce kiss. They were flustered and connected by a string of saliva when he drew back, and he ran his other hand over Sebastian's backside. "...We'll talk in depth at that time, then," he replied. "For now...I will say...I apologize for being violent with you. And I wish...that you had not left me...that first time you came…"

"No, you were right. I was over-reacting. Things just…everything fell apart last night, and it was too easy to think the void had come as well." He shook his head, "As for leaving…you had a guard posted outside the door. I assumed you had wanted your space, which was understandable." He pulled him closer, "It's…harder to sense your mood without the aid of my powers."

Claude slid his hand down the front of Sebastian's trousers shamelessly, kissing and nipping at his neck as he did so. "...Yes, but...He was more of a warning spider...than a keep-out spider," Claude mumbled, his eyes averted as he licked at his throat. "I-I wish you h-had come."

"Sorry…" he whispered, sliding his fingers up Claude's body to tilt his chin up so he could press his lips firmly to his lover's.

"Sorry?" Claude whispered. "I had emotional need of you, and you did not come. I think, that you should be sorry." He felt the demon growing harder beneath his touch and he gave his neck a sharper nip, enough to draw blood.

"I am sorry…I'm sorry for everything, Claude." He gave a small moan, "For causing this mess to begin with, and then not knowing you wanted me to stay…"

"I...have the ability...to forgive," Claude replied, taking his arousal and stroking it through his pants. "I can…forgive you…" He breathed a little. "I'll get right to work on it...After I relieve a little stress...what do you think?"

"I think I'll help you. It's the least I cold do…" he said with another moan, pulling at his shirt, "Just tell me what to do." He rolled his hips slightly.

"I think...you should get between my legs and suck me off," Claude whispered. "That's what." Surely Elijah could survive a few minutes by himself near still-hot equipment.

Sebastian nodded, catching his lover's lips and shoving him across the hall against the opposite wall, his hands moving down to undo his pants and pull his hardened length out before breaking the kiss to drop to his knees. Swirling his tongue around the tip.

Claude lightly petted Sebastian's hair as the man obediently dropped down to pleasure him. Sebastian was a good and skilled lover, always eager to please. Claude appreciated him. He gave a pleasurable little moan as Sebastian took hold of his endowment and licked the tip. "Mm...we'd best...make this quick, though. Wouldn't want him getting curious."

"I'll skip the foreplay, then." He said before taking all of the member into his mouth and began to bob his head, sucking in his cheeks to tighten the pressure around Claude.

Claude groaned, feeling suction around his member. "But that's almost the best part," he murmured, his knees trembling as the pleasure grew stronger. He ran his long fingers through the silky locks, gripping tighter as Sebastian got straight into it.

"You…wanted quick…" Sebastian moaned quickly when he came to Claude's tip once more, diving right back down to continue his work, his hand fondling his balls gently through the cloth of his pants.

Claude shivered and nodded, loving the feeling of Sebastian's warm mouth around his length. "I suppose so...feels good regardless..." He was already aroused enough from merely being in close intimacy with the demon.

The crow's lips twitched upwards and he continued to pleasure his lover, his tongue caressing around the length, his lips sliding along it, and his teeth scraping against it every once in a while. Humming, Sebastian adjusted himself onto his knees and gripped Claude's hips, speeding up his movements to coax his lover to his release faster.

Claude pulled tightly at Sebastian's hair as he sucked him off quickly and as pleasurably as only a demon could do. It only took a few minutes to bring him to release, and his body shuddered pleasurably when he received it. "Hn...hh..." He was panting a little at this point, color having risen to his cheeks.

The crow demon paused, swallowing down his lover's load before pulling back, releasing him from his mouth and licking away a dribble of seed from his lip as he looked up at Claude, "Feel better, love?"

Claude put himself away before answering, tidying his messy hair. "...A little, yes," he breathed, giving Sebastian a short embrace. "Appreciated, Malphas."

He offered a small smile and kissed him, "Come, lets see if Elijah saved any of those fritters to share." He took Claude's hand and led him back into the kitchen where Elijah was sitting at the table, enjoying his breakfast.

Elijah looked up, crinkling his nose ever so slightly. There was that scent again. Claude strolled in and made some plates up for himself and Sebastian, also bringing over the maple syrup, and poured them glasses of juice.

"Did you tell him?" the boy asked immediately.

Claude glanced at him. "No, Elijah, I did not tell him," he said with a sigh.

Sebastian frowned, sitting down with his coffee and looking between the two; "Tell me what?"

"Mmm!" Elijah protested, shaking his head. Claude rolled his eyes, taking some of the juice. "Father will get angry," he mumbled.

"That so?" the crow looked at his lover with a raised eyebrow, "Well, then, I'll let him tell me later." He picked up his fork and began to eat his breakfast. It was a little too sweet for his taste, but it wasn't unpleasantly so.

Elijah pouted, and continued to eat his breakfast. Claude and Sebastian were on good terms again at least, which made the atmosphere a lot nicer.

Once he was finished eating, Sebastian began to gather the dirty dishes and carried them over to the sink, filling it with hot water and soap to begin washing them, the warm water helping to warm him further. It truly was surprising how cold he had gotten without realizing it…and it made him wonder if Hell's fires no longer kept them warm now that they were cut off from it.

Claude had also dressed a little warmer that day, and Elijah was finally dressed properly once more, now that his father was a little more awake.

Claude bid his lover come join him in the sewing room, where he'd been inspired to make a few more outfits for the youngest demon.

Sebastian joined him once he was done in the kitchen, going through the wardrobe which was full of different outfits Claude had made, looking for something warmer in his size and slipping into it, rather than staying in his pajamas all day, "So what was Elijah talking about at breakfast?" he asked, pulling on a thick white blouse and buttoning it up.

"Oh. That," Claude murmured, not looking up from the piece he was sewing. "The child has some toilet-training issues still. I already told him off though, so you don't need to."

Sebastian sighed, "looks like we still need to remind him to relieve himself before he gets into bed…" he slipped a vest on over his shirt and walked over, pulling up a chair next to Claude and watching him as he worked, "…I was thinking last night as I wandered London," he began, mindlessly picking up a silver button from a tin and looking at it, "What if…the reapers can help us with my condition..? It was originally their Thorns, after all…maybe they know more that can help you…"

Claude was quiet for a minute. Eventually he looked up. "The shinigami. What are the chances we'll get one to talk? Even if we trap one...they're just dispatch reapers..."

"It depends on what one we get. Like, perhaps, one of higher rank. They have influence and even if they don't have answers, they can get us our answers. And I think I know of one that is not annoying that we could get to talk with a little leverage." He set down the button and looked at Claude, "William Spears is a supervisor of the reapers who work the field. And we both have seen him on a date with his young coworker Ronald Knox. If he truly does have feelings for Knox, we could use him to get Spears to talk."

"William Spears," Claude remarked. "The same William Spears who almost decapitated you, love?" he asked in a smooth, almost mocking tone.

"…I was having an attack. And for the time-being, I am attack-free." He bristled, "There is only two other reapers I can think of that could possibly be of Help. Grell Sutcliff, but He'd demand a kiss…or worse for his help, which would still be unreliable. Or, we could go to the Undertaker. However, that reaper truly is strong and should he decide he wants a fight, rather than to help give out information, we won't stand a chance. He took me on when I was still at my best in contract with Ciel, along with Sutcliff, and Knox, all at the same time, and he came out on top. We both don't have our powers. I think our best bet would be Spears at this point. Knox is reckless. We could lure him into a trap easily. And then Spears would be unaware that we are without our powers, and he'd be focused most on wanting his little boyfriend back in one piece. We have a chance."

Claude cocked an eyebrow. "Not that you're above having sex with people to get what you want. Either way, I tangled with Sutcliff, and I loathe him, so I won't have you putting your sweet cock anywhere near him. This is ...quite a possible plan. I was thinking a different direction. Upon Ciel's death, I met a reaper who's very own lover suffered the Thorns. But...they didn't seem to have a cure, so...it probably wasn't a good idea."

Sebastian's eye twitched, "I'm above bedding that particular reaper for any information. And while I have used him from time to time, Sutcliff disgusts me." he shuttered at the thought of the redhead clinging to him and hanging off him desperately. "I do not know the reaper you speak of, but just because they don't seem to know the cure, doesn't mean they don't have some information that could help us find it. If it could help me stay alive…it's worth a shot."

"The little blonde reaper, though...he was cute. He might be amusing to play some games with...And I have no way of finding that other reaper. I do not know his name. Your idea is better to try first, I think."

"He does make for some entertainment at times." He smirked, "I just hope this works…" he reached up to play with a lock of Claude's hair, "…leaving you and Elijah is my greatest fear at this point."

"You're not leaving us," Claude said with a sigh, then startled a little as he accidentally pricked his finger deeply on a needle. He stared down in surprise as the bright red blood beaded up and ran down his finger. "...I cannot remember the last time I was this careless..."

Sebastian took his hand and licked up the blood from his finger, "As things stand right now…I will be. That's why we need to find a way to stop it from happening." He muttered against his finger, "and possibly…unlock your powers…"

"That would be ideal…because I fear...we are little better than humans, at this point," he whispered, not taking his eyes off the finger he'd wounded. A demon would never be so careless. "It's killing me, Sebastian. You have no idea what it's like to lose magic, when it is your best strength."

"Our powers…is what separates us from the mortals and reapers…" he agreed, taking the project Claude had been working on and setting it safely aside before pulling him in against his chest to comfort him, "I know there are ways of unlocking them again. Lesser demons than us have done it before; we can too."

Claude was surprised at the affectionate gesture, but he accepted it keenly, letting Sebastian draw him in. He held there for a minute, breathing in the intoxicating scent of his lover, before murmuring, "We must make haste with these plans. We cannot sit here and do nothing."

The crow nodded, "…I believe we can still trust Faelan to babysit Elijah while we go out…I'd trust him more than the triplets, at least." He said, "Though it'd be harder to call for him…"

"That is the least of our worries, I'd think," Claude replied, and at that moment, Elijah came running into the room, sporting a bloody cut on his forehead. Claude moved back from Sebastian immediately. "What've you done _this time_?" he asked irritably.

"I fell down the staaaaiiirs," the child wept, draping himself over Sebastian's knee.

Sebastian sighed, "Weren't you supposed to be working on your Chinese?" he pulled the boy up onto his lap and looked at the cut, "…Doesn't look too bad. You are fine. He licked the blood away and got up, walking over to get a first aid kit, just in case his saliva wouldn't work on helping to heal the cut as it normally would.

" _I was working_ ," said the child fluently in Chinese, " _when I thought I heard some voices coming from the basement! But when I started to go down the stairs, I fell asleep!_ "

Claude raised an eyebrow. "...You _fell asleep_?"

"Voices? The triplets?" he asked, wetting a cloth with some alcohol, "This might sting…" he said before pressing it to the boy's cut.

Elijah steeled himself against the pain, determined to be extra good for this fathers that day. "I didn't know the triplets could speak," he said thoughtfully. "But it sounded all whispery, and, I don't know."

"They don't talk much, usually just whisper amongst themselves from what I have witnessed." Sebastian said, "It was probably them." He finished cleaning the wound and bandaged it to keep out any germs and bacteria, as well as to catch any blood that might still ooze out. "Now tell us what you mean by you 'fell asleep'."

"I tell them to whisper, actually," Claude remarked. "They're actually quite chatty and obnoxious otherwise." He turned to Elijah, "Did you pass out?" the spider asked, a little concernedly. "Is that what happened?"

Elijah just shrugged. "I was walking down the stairs—not running, because you say it is dangerous—and it was dark, and suddenly my head felt weird and I went to sleep. And I fell down the stairs and hit my head," he said, pouting as there was a bandage put around his forehead.

"…So you passed out." Sebastian frowned, "Did you get enough sleep last night? I don't see how our sudden lack of powers could cause such things otherwise…"

Claude shifted the boy over onto his own knee, feeling his aura for any signs of illness. At least, he had a tiny trickle of magic left in him.

"There were the nightmares, plus an abrupt start to the day, but it unlikely that could cause sleep deprivation. It's only morning-tea time, after all."

Elijah puffed his cheeks. "I will go take a nap if it makes me better."

"Sebastian nodded, "It's worth a try." He set the first aid kit aside, "Take one if you feel it'll help. I don't like the idea of you passing out at random like that. You could get seriously hurt."

"By the way," Claude said, picking the boy up, "your intonation was off on at least two words, you little show-off. You will continue with your studies after you rest and have had some lunch, alright?"

Elijah whined. "Yes, father." Claude carried him out of the sewing room and out to Elijah's favorite nap room.

Sebastian waited for Claude to return, holding up the outfit he had been sewing and looking at the details, "We might want to keep an eye on those three if they are going to continue to stay here." he said when he heard Claude returning.

Claude leaned against Sebastian a little. "You think the triplets...?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"I've never trusted them, really…" he said, tilting his head to look at Claude, "They had loyalty to Hannah, after all. And now that we are banished from Hell…who knows what they may do."

"I command their loyalty," Claude said. "They remained loyal to me after her death." He rubbed his forehead. "But I...will speak with them soon, just in case. We don't want to risk Elijah after all."

He picked up a dress he'd recently finished, and held it up to Sebastian's frame, surveying how it would look.

"Good." he said, and then raised an eyebrow at the dress, "…It's been a while since you have made a dress, Cimeries."

"Oh, I never _made_ you do a thing, Malphas. Admit you liked the feel of the soft, silken, unrestricting cloth against your body." He held it up, looking it over. "...Could be taken up a few inches," he murmured with a smirk. "The more of your sweet, milky thighs I can see, the better."

"…Another reaper design, I take it? Human women still wear longer skirts." He reached over and took the dress, "And I had admitted to you months ago that I don't quite mind it. Pants just give a better feeling of security in situations I'd rather not be so vulnerable." He shuttered, "Wearing this, for example, when that insufferable red reaper is around is something I'd rather have the protection of slacks. But if you wish to see how much you'd like to hem the skirt, I could slip into it for you."

"Yes, a reaper design, but inspired by some of the Oriental dresses I've seen in my travels." He wrested with himself for a minute, torn between decisions. "Oh, I suppose we have all day to plan for catching the blonde," he murmured. "Try it on for me, love."

"The blond likes going to pubs after work. We'd have the best chance at getting him then than hoping to catch him while he's out reaping and has his scythe handy, anyway." He said, walking behind a screen to change, stripping out of his warm slacks, blouse, and vest before slipping into the dress and buttoning up the back of it himself he walked out again, "Definitely not for when red things are flitting around." He said, blushing at the short skirt that came to just above his knee.

Claude surveyed the dress. "Look at you, all flustered at such a high-rising dress." He pushed one side of Sebastian's bangs off his head and pinned it with an apricot blossom pin. "Definitely accentuates your more feminine features, I must say." He adjusted his backside gently, where the dress grew quite tight.

"I'm not used to reaper fashion. The last time you had me slip into something so short it was a child's style night gown, and that was before we got together." He turned around to face Claude, sliding his arms around his waist, "Just how much shorter are you thinking to take this thing?"

Claude leaned in, licking his neck and sliding a hand up under the dress, rubbing him between the legs. "Maybe I'll just...make a matching panty set to go with it...take those buttons out and add lacing instead...as if access wasn't easy enough, of course."

"Panties…" he smirked, "That would take away the comfortable unrestricting feel this dress has compared to pants." He pressed up against Claude, sliding a pale, bare thigh up along his lover's leg.

"...But…less vulnerability, as you put it," Claude said silkily. "And what a sight you'd be—"

The moment was promptly interrupted by the return of Elijah's voice. "Fathers—"

Claude pulled his hand back from its comfortable spot between Sebastian's legs and whipped around.

"Elijah!" Startled, as he was focused on flirting with his lover, Sebastian pulled back from Claude and turned to look at the boy in the doorway, "If you can't sleep you should have returned to your—what's wrong?"

Elijah rocked on his heels. "I was just..." He cocked his head. "Why are you in a dress, father?"

Claude snickered from behind his scantily clad partner.

Sebastian blushed a little darker, "Because I was doing Claude a favor" he said simply.

Elijah stared at him for a minute before speaking. "Looks good!" he chirped with a smile.

Claude walked over to him. "What is it? We're not going to come and sleep with you," he murmured.

Elijah tugged him along. "I can't find my ducky. I don't know where you put him." The spider-demon sighed, giving Sebastian a wink before going to help him find the toy.

"It can't be far. Probably was left in your study, or it's at the bottom of the stairs from when you blacked out and fell." Sebastian said, sitting down and crossing his legs so he didn't feel like he was exposed. Figuring it wouldn't take long to find the misplaced toy, he picked up a pair of pants that Elijah had ripped a few days prior and began to repair them.

* * *

To be continued...


	28. Chapter 28

Claude found he'd put Elijah's duck on the bathroom sink when he'd taken him into the bath that morning, and he fetched it for the boy. Only after that did he finally get him to take a nap, and their day proceeded as it would any normal day when they weren't banished from Hell. The demon had a snack around six, before searching his partner out again to enquire about what they'd be doing that night.

Sebastian had changed back into pants and stoked a fire in the library, but rather than curling up with a book as he normally did, he stared into the flames. He had been careless when he built up the fire and had burned himself—actually burned himself. Fire, unless it was holy fire, never hurt a demon, but the skin on his arm had turned an angry red and blistered. Proof that they were truly forsaken by Hell. He shook the thoughts from his head and looked at Claude when he walked in, scootching over on the loveseat to make room for him.

Claude sat beside him, observing the burns instantly. He took Sebastian's arm into his own, wordlessly kissing his fingertips before running his hand slowly over the burn. The wound did not heal entirely, but the blisters faded a little. He sighed dejectedly. "We stand on the precipice, dear prince," he remarked softly. "It is time we take the leap of faith."

"Is Elijah in bed?" He asked, they would be going out to kidnap a reaper, after all—if they could find him—and he didn't want their son to follow and get himself in harms way.

"After much protest," Claude replied. "It is still early. Call for Faelan to guard the child in our absence. Surely you have a good plan to trap a reaper who could be in one of hundreds of bars in London."

"He has a few I know he goes to often." He nodded, "I've seen him a few times when I had time after putting Ciel to bed to indulge in a few luxuries." He closed his eyes, concentrating on calling Faelan to him.

At least they had a spot to start, then, Claude thought. His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of the polite, effeminate albino known only as Faelan.

He looked scared, and Claude knew why. No doubt he'd heard of what had happened the previous night.

"My—prince—" stuttered Faelan nervously.

Sebastian opened his eyes, feeling a little drained from such a simple thing as calling for his former servant, "Faelan…thank you for coming. I…was unsure as you no doubt have heard…" he frowned. Knowing news would have traveled faster than normal as it was unheard of that a royal demon was taken to Hell's court, let alone banished.

The servant bit his lip. "O-of course I am still loyal to you—I have no idea how they could have—I—"

"Guard Avnas," Claude ordered the man, who squeaked at the firm tone of his voice, "Guard him, Faelan. Let no one entire our room while he sleeps, not even the triplets. Do not permit him to leave unless it's urgent, and then escort him the whole time. Do I make myself clear?"

The younger demon nodded quickly, obediently.

"Thank you." Sebastian offered a small smile to help calm the albino, "I knew we could still rely on and trust you. We have some business to attend to that would be dangerous for him, but we didn't want to leave him alone."

Faelan nodded, looking between them, and he bowed deeply before scampering away.

Claude sighed, sipping the cup of tea he'd brought with him and rubbing his forehead. "Do you think you're ready to depart?"

"Yes." He nodded, "Elijah is in good hands, and it is around the time when business at the local pubs start to take off. We just need to hope he didn't get overtime."

"And what approach would you suggest?" Claude asked. "He knows you, so I imagine most of the interaction will be left to me if we want to gain his trust? Now what would you suggest? Flirt, seduce, drug?"

"You probably should." He nodded, "We should wait until he's had a few drinks. He was quite a flirt himself from what I remember, but I don't know if that holds up now that he's involved with Spears. If he's completely sober, he may reject you right off. If he's under the influence, I know your charms and seduction skills should be enough to sway his trust. And if not, you could always slip something into his drink when he isn't looking. I'll stay at a distance and keep an eye on things just in case you need assistance…such as another reaper shows up or he puts up a fight once you have him outside."

Claude had practically forgotten that Ronald would be taken at this point, he'd barely considered it a problem. "I'll try and drug him from the outset, then," the demon replied. "Damn it...if only I could still shape-shift. I was such a good shape-shifter, you know." He got up, taking Sebastian with him, and took him into his potions room. Again, another substance that didn't require magic...a drug.

"I don't think I have ever seen you shape-shift…" he muttered, "Of course, I rather enjoy this form of yours." He smirked, checking out Claude's back and rear as the spider demon looked for a drug to use.

Claude swiftly got all the ingredients together and crushed them in a mortar and pestle, making a very fine powder which he wrapped in a little packet of paper. "Well, good," he remarked. "Especially since I'm currently stuck that way. It was a talent of mine though...not something every demon can do so well."

"I myself only had a few forms I could take on well. This, a crow, a cat, and of course, my true form. Other things I found it easier to use makeup and masks as disguises." He nodded, "And my cat form took a lot of work to learn. Its not one of my natural forms."

Claude nodded. "But of course, having no magic anymore…" he murmured, trailing away. "Anyway, let's get going. This reaper isn't going to trap himself, even if he is blonde."

"Maybe he will once exposed to your charms…I did, in a way." Sebastian teased as they left the manor and started for London.

The crow led him to a few pubs he knew Ronald frequented, staying at each for a while to make sure they didn't miss him, until finally, they walked into one near the center of London and he spotted the blond at the bar, waiting for a drink to be slid over to him. Sebastian pointed him out, "Signal me if you need help, love." He smirked before parting ways and walking over to an empty table in the far corner.

The thing was...they shouldn't harm or molest the reaper or do anything to spoil his fidelity to William Spears. It would be their key bargaining point—Ronald, _completely untouched_. Well...close enough, anyway, Claude thought with a smirk, parting from Sebastian's side and going to sit at the bar beside the man. He casually removed his jacket, exposing his firm and muscular torso beneath the dress shirt. Perhaps it was advantageous that Claude Faustus and William Spears were quite similar in appearance. "Whiskey, please. I'll take the bottle."

Ronald tipped back his glass of scotch and glanced over at Claude, blinking a few times. He had been drinking for about an hour already and he could have sworn his lover had sat down next to him. Of course, it was silly to think that. Grell had caused William overtime yet again with his insistence on flirting with the unwilling supervisor, rather than working as he should. Which, in turn had ruined the date they had planned for that night. Having nothing else to do, and not wanting to go home to an empty bed so early in the evening, Ronald had decided that getting drunk would be the better option.

The reaper chuckled at his own slip-up. Of course this stranger wasn't William…though he wished it was. "Good evening." He greeted him politely.

One motion was all it took. While Claude had distracted him with the motions of his chest and the jacket, he'd released the packet into Ronald's drink. He applauded his own cunning silently for a minute before realizing he'd been spoken to. He gave him a polite nod as he was given his bottle, with a glass poured out for him.

"Evening."

"Rough day?" asked the bartender curiously of Claude, who nodded. "You wouldn't believe the last few days I've had," he replied.

"You too, hu?" Ronald grinned, "Work's been Hell lately. I'm drowning in paperwork." He paused and polished off his glass, setting it back down and leaning on the counter, looking at Claude, "Is yers work or personal?"

Claude gave him a faint smile, adjusting his glasses and downing his own glass in one swig. "Personal, I'd say. So I'm here to...hm, relax, drown my troubles, hopefully have a good time."

"Isn't that everyone's reason fer coming t' the pub?" The reaper swayed slightly in his seat, feeling a lot drunker than he usually did with only a few glasses of scotch, but the thought didn't linger in his mind, "A handsome man like you shoul'n' have a problem finding a nice girl or two t' dance with."

Claude watched his movements carefully, considering if it was worth risking his next statement. Was Ronald doped enough? Once the bartender moved away, he murmured, "Well, can you keep a secret?" He downed yet another glass of scotch. "I'd much rather find an cute young man."

Ronald laughed, "Really, I would too…but most o' the guys 'round here would kick yer ass before you could even ask them! It's safer to just as the ladies."

"All well and good if you like both," Claude replied, continuing to drink. "But since you say, any chance a cutie like you'd be interested in a guy like me?" He leaned against the counter, staring up at him with curious golden eyes.

The drugged reaper couldn't help but blush. The stranger really did look a lot like William…and with the untamed hair, it reminded him of when they had just had sex… No, he shouldn't think about that…picturing Will naked would only turn him on and he was unable to try and start something with his lover who was stuck at work. "I…I have a lover…" he muttered, though he didn't pull back to put a more respectful distance between them. The man just looked so much like William…

Claude smirked a little, adjusting his glasses again and continuing to stare at him as he downed his scotch. "Here...have one. Your lover should be with you on a night like this, shouldn't they? The least I can do is keep you company..."

"He has overtime…" he muttered, accepting the drink and taking a drink from it, "He's had overtime fer over a week… I hardly see him…" he complained.

"That's not fair, is it?" Claude purred in a silky tone, ever so casually brushing a strand of hair from the man's face. "You deserve attention, after all...a bright young man such as yourself should not be left to dull in the dank bars of London on a Friday night, now should you?"

He shook his head, oblivious to the demon's touch. He downed more of the drink and looked unsteadily at him, "…you look like him…" he muttered randomly.

Claude quirked a little smile. "Ahh, est-ce le cas? How odd that I should resemble your lover," he murmured, seeing Ronald's glass was empty and daring to refill it, even letting his fingers wrap around Ronald's on the glass as he did so.

"You could be his brother…" he muttered, and then laughed loudly, "Impossible though." He watched as his glass was filled again, "Thanks, mister..?"

"Maybe his father," Claude murmured to himself. He smirked to the young blonde. "My name is Claude," he told him. "And what is the name of the handsome youth I am so lucky to have in my company tonight?"

"Ronald Knox." He held out his hand as he introduced himself with a wide smile, sipping from his glass, "Nice to meet you Claude."

Claude sighed impatiently, glancing around the restaurant for his lover. "Suits you," he said amiably, drinking yet another glass. He wiped a little trail of scotch from Ronald's chin gently. "Where do you hail from, Ronald?"

Ronald subconsciously leaned into the touch, "Around." He said vaguely, there was no point in talking about his human family he left behind when he became a reaper. He swayed a little more heavily on his stool and set his glass down, "Excuse me…but I think I've had more than I thought I had…should head home…" he stood up, the room spinning around him and he fell back against the spider demon. "Sorry…"

"Certainly looks like it," Claude said in false concern, getting up with him. "Come on, I'll walk you home. We wouldn't want anyone to take advantage of you, now would we?" he asked, putting an arm around him and grabbing his coat. He pressed money down on the bar and left, winking at Sebastian.

"Come, come...tell me where you hail from, Ronald~"

Sebastian watched them leave and waited a moment before following them at a distance, just in case Ronald still recognized him.

"You won't be able t' find my place…" the reaper grinned, "Best I get t' an inn or something. He swayed a bit and looked up at Claude, seeing William's face again, "Nnn…Will…you should just make Grell-senpai take your overtime for you…miss you…" he confessed, drunkenly, the alcohol and drug rushing to his impaired mind faster now that he was on his feet.

"Oh, for _that man_ , overtime is the minimum he deserves," Claude said in all honesty. He leaned in and pressed a faint kiss to his cheek, then murmured, "I'll take you somewhere safe."

Ronald smiled and leaned against him, "'somewhere safe'…or do ya mean 'privet'?" he chuckled, "Been so long, senpai…"

Behind them, Sebastian smirked. It was proving too easy to capture the young shinigami. Especially when the reaper seemed to mistake Claude as William.

"Both," Claude replied simply, holding him a little closer and drinking straight from his bottle of whiskey.

What a sad sort of attachment, Claude thought. They were supposed to be lovers, and yet this young one obediently called him 'senpai'. Wasn't love supposed to be about equality? He shrugged. At his relationship with Sebastian was equal. Let the reaper lower himself if it made him happy. "Come along, now..."

Ronald followed willingly, believing that he was with his lover. In his mind, he didn't remember when William had shown up. He had been talking to a stranger, but he was too drunk to really question it.

Once they were out of the city limit, Sebastian jogged on ahead and reached the manor a few minutes before the reaper and his lover, opening the cellar doors to the basement and going down to ready an area to keep Ronald in.

Claude kept an arm close around the man, and finally brought him to the manor. Ronald was barely able to walk at this point, but Claude hauled him down to the dungeon anyway. Oh, the people he'd tortured down there when Alois was alive...

Ronald barely knew what was going on at that point. He didn't know where he was or how he'd gotten there, he just knew that he had drank too much and he wanted to sleep it off. He did have work in the morning, after all. He leaned heavily on Claude, letting him lead him around.

Sebastian showed them down, closing the door behind him, "That seemed easy enough." He commented, looking at the blonde's state, "So far the plan seems to be going perfectly."

"Indeed it does," Claude replied. "I knew it wouldn't be difficult. Sebastian, dearest, the manacles, if you please. We don't want him getting away. Though perhaps a reaper trap might be more effective...perhaps I should draw one up." Some sigils, including reaper traps, needed no magic to be created. As long as they were drawn properly, even a human could make them properly and effectively.

"Both. Just in case. I doubt he could escape the trap, but the bindings would be an attractive touch." The crow smirked, digging out the shackles and chain from a crate and handing them over to his lover.

Claude wandered over to some cans of paint. He unsealed one, dipping a brush in, and painted a decent-sized reaper trap on the floor, by the wall. "Okay, in he goes..." He coaxed the blonde over to the area and clapped him in the irons, behind his back to further restrain him. "That way his lover can't get to him either. He'd be trapped too."

Ronald slumped over in the center of the sigil, feeling an invisible force take hold of him. But he didn't care, curling up to let himself drift off to sleep.

"Such a good boy he is…for now." Sebastian cooed, watching the reaper, "Things'll probably be less than quiet down here once he wakes up and he realizes he's been trapped."

Claude shrugged, running his hand through the blonde hair. "So cute, isn't he...Seems the chatty type, and if he gets loud, we'll just gag him."

"It'd suit him, I think, rather well." The crow chuckled and sat down on a wooden table, picking up a whip that had been left on it at some point, "It may prove hard to want to play with him. I'm sure Spears would do anything to ensure that we don't."

"We should not harm him," Claude replied. "We'll receive nothing but base satisfaction for that, it will only make things worse if we harm our hostage. Let him be. You can look, of course...strip him naked if you wish it...but no touching."

"You were thinking it too." He said simply, setting the whip down, "But very well. No touching the reaper we have trapped in the cellar." He stood up and walked over to Claude, slipping his arms around him, "We should let Spears realize on his own that Knox is missing. Let his worry build before we send him a message."

"Spears seems the obsessive type, too. He'll know very soon that Ronald is missing. Shall we give him...two days to fret about his partner before contacting him? Which also begs the issue of _how_ we shall contact him...you never kept the business card he gave you, right?" He stepped over to Ronald. "Maybe the boy has something on him."

"Worth a try." Sebastian nodded, "Reapers have birds, I know. Carrier pidgins. We may be able to get Knox to summon his bird to him and then we can use that to send our message."

Claude frisked Ronald for his belongings, coming up with a wallet and a curious black device with buttons and a screen. "Oh...this may be of use...In my study of the reapers, and their disdainfully superior technology, I have come across something like this before. It is similar to a telephone, I believe...I'll have to study it a bit to figure out how it works, though."

Sebastian nodded, "…we'll have to feed him too, won't we?" he sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "I'd rather Elijah stay ignorant to this plan of ours. We'll have to keep him away from the cellar."

Claude sighed. "He doesn't like the dark," he murmured. "I doubt he'll come down. And yes, the reaper requires food, and..." He looked at the manacles and sighed, stepping back into the circle and changing it so his arms were at the front instead. "At least this way we can give him a bucket and he'll take care of himself. We don't want him all filthy."

"We can let him bathe before we give him back, as well. No need to treat him inhumanely. He's our tool, not a prisoner, after all." He walked over and found a bucket, setting it within the reaper trap so that Ronald could grab it when he needed it. "I'll bring him down breakfast in the morning before Elijah gets up."

"He is very lucky he is not our prisoner, then...but he will be, if Spears doesn't give up the information we need." He pressed a button on the phone, nearly dropping it when it beeped and the screen lit up. "But I think we'll find Mr. Spears very accommodating."

Sebastian glanced at the device; "…And humans say strange things are 'witchcraft' derived from devils…I think it's more derived from death. I've never seen such a thing."

"…How curious," he remarked. "Come. Let us return to nicer furnishings. This dungeon still smells of Alois." Claude turned and left for the stairs.

The crow followed, leaving an oil lamp on the table, the flame turned down to give off the smallest amount of light for the reaper.

Claude went to their room, knocking and finding Faelan still faithfully guarding the sleeping child.

"Has there been any trouble?" he asked the albino.

"Nothing, so far. I took him to the kitchen for some warm milk, he was having difficulty sleeping. The triplets wanted to check up or something, but I told them no, and it's been quiet since."

"Thank you for watching him." Sebastian said, with another small smile, "You may return to your own life whenever you wish." He reached out, putting a hand on the smaller demon's shoulder, "We'll stay with him the rest of the night."

Faelan bowed deeply, and he'd disappeared in an instant after that.

Claude sighed as he entered the room to see the sleeping child. "It is odd though," he commented quietly. "I told the triplets to let Elijah be, tonight."

"…All the more reason to question their motives then." Sebastian said, slipping out of his clothes and grabbing a pair of flannel pajamas to change into. He was legitimately tired; having stayed up all night the night before without his connection to Hell. He yawned and pulled out another pair for Claude, "We can speak to them tomorrow."

Claude took the pyjamas and changed into them. He took to the restroom, brushed his teeth, then crawled into the crisp, fresh bedsheets beside his son. Elijah, however, woke up, his eyes opening sleepily.

"Mmm?" The boy poked his head out of the sheets, the toy duck coming with him.

Sebastian followed suit, slipping in on the other side of their son, "Shh, it's alright. Go back to sleep, love." He said gently, kissing the boy's temple as he settled into the bed.

"Fathers," Elijah whispered happily, seeing them both. "I had scary dreams again...I am glad you are here to make things better..." Claude closed the distance between the three of them, drawing them all in close together protectively.

"We are here."

"They are just dreams, Elijah. They'll go away eventually. Don't worry about them." Sebastian slipped his arms protectively around the boy, "We won't leave you tonight. Go back to sleep."

Elijah clung to Sebastian's arm, and Claude held them all close together. "Shh, shh...You're safe with us."

Elijah smiled peacefully, warm between the two demons, and quickly fell asleep. Claude and Sebastian felt themselves following soon after.

* * *

To be continued...


	29. Chapter 29

The next morning, Sebastian didn't want to leave the warm bed; wanting to stay curled up with his son and lover all day. The idea was tempting. But they had a reaper hidden in the cellar. With a defeated sigh, he forced himself up, carefully detaching Elijah from his arm before making his way down to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Claude woke up to an odd sensation that morning, right about his right index finger. His eyes slid open drowsily, and there was Elijah, knawing, no—chewing, on his finger. He blinked, his eyes snapping open a little more. "Ah—!" he muttered, yanking his hand back and looking at the finger in a dull sort of horror. His finger had certainly been chewed on, and it was bleeding, and Elijah had blood around his mouth.

The boy groaned, slowly blinking awake and becoming aware of a familiar metallic taste in his mouth. Confused, he licked his lips and sat up, rubbing his eyes and looked at his father, "Father?"

Claude had sat up, frowning deeply. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" he muttered, reaching for a handkerchief to dab the blood away. "Don't _snack on me_ while I'm asleep."

"I'm sorry…I didn't know I was…" he pushed his lip out and looked up at his father with big orange eyes, hoping to be forgiven.

Claude frowned some more, trying not to be swayed by the look. "What is it, Elijah? Do you thirst for blood? Souls? Or, even flesh?" It was not unheard for a demon to enjoy the taste of human flesh. Sometimes, when devouring souls, they ate the body along with it. Claude thought such behavior was appalling, though, and he'd never try it himself.

"Blood…taste good…but I wasn't trying to take yours, father! I thought I was just sleeping." The boy said quickly, not wanting to get into trouble.

Claude collected a spider off the child's shoulder, not informing him of the arachnid's opinion on the subject. At any given time he usually had at least one spider coasting about on the body's of his family. Sebastian often caught them though. "Better than the bedwetting, I suppose," he sniped, nursing his sore finger.

The boy seemed to sink in shame, "…You didn't tell Sebastian…right?" he pouted, "I can make it better…" he climbed out of bed, running over to a bookshelf and standing on a stool to grab the first aid kit and running back over to the bed.

At the child's gesture, he seemed to soften a little. "Fine. One bandage, then let's go find Sebastian and see if he made something tasty for breakfast. Just don't let it happen again. Either of them." He held his hand out for the boy.

The boy nodded and he took his hand into his lap, cleaning his father's finger and wrapping it with a bandage that was a little too big, causing Claude's finger to look twice it's normal size.

Claude just rolled his eyes. "Much better," he muttered, lifting the child into his arms and carrying him downstairs, to the kitchens.

Elijah smiled and scooped up his duck as they left.

Sebastian had finished breakfast and taken a plate down to Ronald; only to find the reaper still passed out, no doubt from the alcohol and drug that he had consumed the night before. He left the plate for him, turning the bucket over to be used as a table, before returning to the kitchen and setting the table for his family. "Good morning."

"Morning," Claude responded dryly. "No word from the reaper?" He set Elijah down, nearly putting him in the highchair to mock how babyish he acted at times, but opted not to at the last minute when Elijah started to wiggle in protest.

"Not yet, at least." The crow shook his head, plating the eggs and bacon before turning to carry the plates over to the table, "…what happened?" he asked, nodding at the demon's finger as he set out the plates.

"Aren't you observant this morning," Claude commented. "Elijah thought he might chew on my finger while I was asleep," he muttered.

"I was asleep too, father!" He protested, not wanting it to sound like he had done it intentionally.

Sebastian blinked, and began to chuckle softly, "I know. Don't worry so much." He laughed, sitting down with his own plate, "My mother and father had complained that I chewed on them in my sleep as well. You much have gotten the habit from me."

"The argument for allowing Elijah to sleep in our bed grows thinner every day," Claude muttered, reaching for some food, shooting a look at the child. "I don't want to wake up one morning and find my finger has been gnawed off."

"But…I have the scary dreams when you aren't with me, fathers!" the boy protested.

"Then I suggest no more chewing on Claude." Sebastian smiled, "And eat your breakfast."

Claude leaned over to Sebastian. "You're the only one I might let get away with it," he purred into his ear, giving it a quick nip.

The crow smirked, "Don't I already?" he asked, turning to kiss his cheek.

Claude ate quickly, eager to go and see how the little reaper was doing. He thanked Sebastian for breakfast, and cleaned up quickly. When Elijah was dressed and back working on his Chinese, Claude nudged his partner. "Will you be accompanying me?"

"I will in a bit. I'd like to bathe as I haven't properly washed myself since before we were banished." He explained, "I shouldn't be long."

Claude drew Sebastian in. "Of course," he murmured, giving him a soft kiss. "I'll see to him myself then." He touched his backside lightly as he left, heading for the dungeon.

The crow demon chuckled and walked off towards a bathroom to draw himself a bath.

In the cellar, Ronald had finally awoken, confused as to where he was, and panic setting in when he realized he was in the center of a reaper trap. Unable to escape, the young reaper sat stiffly in the trap, ignoring his hangover and untrusting of the breakfast set out for him. He turned his head when he heard a door, followed by footsteps on the stone steps leading down into the dimly lit room.

"Ronald Knox," Claude murmured as he walked into the room. "I dislike being inhospitable...I apologize for the furnishings...I'll keep it in mind next time I kidnap someone...give them a nice room, at least..."

The blond narrowed his eyes, looking at the demon, "…you're that guy from the pub…" he said when he remembered, though it took a moment to place the spider's face, "What is all this? What do you want with me?"

Claude sighed. He wasn't too keen on explaining it all. "If you could just be co-operative, it would good. We need information from William Spears...and we're using you to ...force his hand. If you've any amount of intelligence, you'll understand."

Ron crossed his arms, "You are using me to get information from my…boss?" he asked, not wanting to give away the fact that he was involved with William. Though…if this man had taken him, there was no doubt that he already knew of their relationship already. "If you are looking for intellect on dispatch, then you are wasting your time and causing me unneeded overtime. William-senpai won't give it to you, demon."

"He will, but I could care less for your dispatch. You just sit tight for a few days, Mr. Knox. We're not going to harm you...basic necessities have been provided for you. In a few days, Mr. Spears will come for you. Assuming he's given us what we want. Otherwise, you rot down here."

"…Just what is it you want from him that you feel you have to use me to get it?" he asked, standing up and walking to the edge of the trap, just shy of the invisible force that kept him in place.

Claude stared at him for a minute. "It doesn't matter, does it? He'll help us because he wants his dear boyfriend back," he said monotonously. "No one will get hurt by the information he may or may not have. For your sake, though, you'd best hope he does."

"I think I have a right if I'm being used in such a way, to know what it is you want! Besides. I may not be the brightest guy in dispatch, but I might know what you want and then you can save yourself time and let me go!"

"Why would _you_ tell _us_ the truth?" Claude quipped. "You have no reason to, you'd just as easily lie and run off and everything would be fine for _you_ , but _my_ lover ends up dying!"

Ronald blinked, "…If your lover is human there is no point in trying to save her…or him. whatever." He said simply, "Once a mortal's name is on the list, it's on the list. And they'll die weather or not a reaper is there to collect."

"Knowing that, a shinigami is the last person I'd go to. No, mine is a demon, of course," Claude replied indignantly. As if he'd be stupid enough to let himself fall for a human who'd be dead in the blink of an eye. "And the shinigami are...the only option I have left."

The blond frowned, holding his chin in thought, "I didn't think anything could cause a demon to die…unless they are killed by one of the few things that can kill an immortal…like a death scythe."

Claude rubbed his forehead. Well, he'd already said enough at this point. He might as well tell him. "...You are familiar with the Thorns of Death, are you not? It is essentially the same disease, but for demons. And if anybody can stop the disease...it will be you lot."

The blond groaned, "I'm going to be stuck here forever, aren't I?" he complained, "There is no cure. If there was then Thorns wouldn't be a problem. The only 'cure' we know is just a rumor. And it's illegal."

Claude cracked his fingers, glowering dangerously at him. "How dare you have the nerve to whine about being down here, when my partner is dying? Have some respect, you sniveling youth." He had to hold himself back from hitting him.

"I'm just being realistic! Your lover isn't the only one with Thorns, you know! If we could cure it, Alan-senpai would be cured by now." The reaper snapped.

Claude turned away. "For your sake, you'd better hope there is some chance for my partner. You'd better hope William knows something."

"Don't get me wrong, no one deserved Thorns. Not even a demon…but you are going about this the wrong way." Ronald called out after him, "Will isn't even a medical reaper!"

"William Spears is well connected. All we expect is that he knows someone who knows something." He breathed in deeply, reaffirming his patience. "Please eat up...my lover is a wondrous cook. You will want to keep your strength."

Ronald sighed, sitting back down and taking the plate of now cold breakfast, looking at it, "…Have you at least sent word to him? I know you took my phone."

Claude's eye twitched. That device had bothered him for a while. "So...he is contactable via your 'phone'. Well, we aren't stupid. We're going to leave him to stew in his worry for a few days, Ronald. But we'll do our best to accommodate your needs in the meantime."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm guessing Hell isn't as advanced as we are. Do you need me to explain how to call William's office once you are ready?"

"I am equal to the task," Claude hissed, turning away again. "We'll return to bring you lunch. If you have any further requests, feel free to make them known to either myself or my partner, if he opts to visit you."

"I doubt you'd accommodate my requests." He muttered, setting the plate down and picking up the fork to begin eating, "Unlikely you'll let me go."

"For our purposes, that is impossible. Most other things, of course, can be handled." The spider he had collected from Elijah that day scuttled down into Ronald's circle unseen.

"In that case, it'd be nice to have…a chair at least. This floor is hard." He mentioned, surprised that a meal prepared by a demon could taste so good, even though it had grown cold.

Claude glanced over at a chair from a desk where many torture instruments lay. Kept in working order, of course. "I suppose no matter how hard you throw it, it won't do much damage." He slid the chair over to him.

The blond nodded, "Thank you." he took the chair and sat down in it, "…never drinking that much alone again…" he mumbled to himself.

"You mustn't feel too bad. You were drugged, after all," Claude replied, though it was more gloating about his own skill than alleviating Ronald's misery.

"…Just when did you drug me?" The blond gasped, straining to remember anything that could clue him in to the moment when he had made such a mistake.

"Moment I came in," Claude replied with faint smugness. "It's okay, nobody ever notices. Now, I should be going. Perhaps I'll bring you a book when I return."

The reaper frowned, he hadn't even had a chance. His mistake was going out to the pub at all instead of going home for a quiet evening, waiting for his lover.

Claude disappeared after that. He invited himself into the bathroom while Sebastian was bathing, to admire his figure and offer to wash his hair. "Reaper says it's hopeless," he said with a sigh, kissing Sebastian's back.

"Nothing new…It is a hopeless situation." He muttered, tilting his head back to look at Claude, "But you were able to make a potion that would still my attacks. So it's not _helpless_."

"There has to be hope somewhere, Sebastian. We'll find a way. You just have faith in me. Two days, and we'll have William on tenterhooks, spilling everything we want him to know." He rubbed the man's shoulders, massaging him skillfully.

"I trust you, Cimeries…more than anyone." Sebastian smiled and relaxed, giving a small, pleasurable groan, "We are already one step closer to a possible solution."

Claude hoped so.

Over the next two days there was little trouble with their hostage. They kept him comfortable enough, as much as it was tempting to play with him. The spider demon worked the futuristic device out, eventually finding William's contact number. The time had come to contact him.

Sebastian walked into the room and closed the door after checking in on Elijah and his studies. He felt nervous about continuing with their plan, hoping that it'd pay off. But he kept the emotion hidden as he slipped in next to his lover on the sofa, reaching over and giving his knee a squeeze, "Ready?" he asked, eyeing the device in the spider's hand.

"Very much so. Should I take this down to Ronald? Let him overhear, just as proof that we've got him, perhaps? What is your opinion?" He gave Sebastian's neck a gentle lick.

"Knowing Spears, He'd want proof we have his lover. He agreed, "And while Knox knows me, he can't tell Spears where he is. At most, Spears would assume to look at the Phantomhive Estate."

Claude nodded. "He might find his way over eventually, but lets give him a call regardless." He stood up, escorting him down to the dungeons where Ronald still sat.

"Hello again, Ronald. How do you find yourself?"

"Ready to go home." The blond replied, sitting backwards in his chair and resting his chin on the back.

"Depending on this call, we may be able to allow you to." Sebastian said.

"…Still can't believe you have Thorns."

Claude reached over, petting his hair. "So you keep telling us. But you're locked up here because he does, so you might as well believe it. Anyway, we're going to call darling William now," he replied. "Maybe it's your lucky day." He looked to his lover. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"I just push this button, right?" Sebastian nodded, taking the reaper's phone and pointing to the 'call' button. As William's name was highlighted on the glowing screen.

Claude nodded. "That's all." He'd not experienced such tedium in a while, as he had trying to unravel the mysteries of this flashing plastic communications device.

The crow nodded and pressed the button, ignoring Ronald's amused smirk as he brought the phone up to his ear as he would any normal rotary phone, listening to it ring.

It took one ring for William to pick up. "Ronald," he said sharply into the phone, "where the blazes are you!? Do you have _any_ idea the amount of times I've tried calling, and even frequenting all your usual places, and I had a damn _search party_ sent for you, and I swear if you're passed out in a gutter somewhere—"

"Well, it's good to know you were worried about Knox, Spears. But I assure you, he is not passed out in a gutter." Sebastian interrupted the man's rant.

"—I'd almost _demote you_ , _just_ for how worried you—" There was a long silence, and the sound of William clearing his throat. "...Where is he?" he followed up in a quiet, restrained voice.

"He's safe for now while there is no reason to harm him. Though he is quite the tempting young man I can let you speak to him for a moment if you do not believe me."

"Let me speak with him," William replied, holding the phone tight. He raised a faintly trembling cup of tea to his lips, trying to steel himself.

Sebastian lowered the phone, "Be a good boy, now, and don't talk too much." He smirked, holding the phone to the blonde's ear.

Ronald didn't bother to try and take the phone, leaning into it as it was held to his ear, "Will?"

William swallowed. "Ronald. What's...what's going on? Where are you? Have they hurt you?"

"I don't know…I'm in some sort of cellar in a reaper trap. They haven't touched me, and they keep me fed at least…"

William exhaled slowly. They hadn't tainted him...hadn't even hurt him? "What's going on? Are they using you to get to me?"

"Sort of? I think they want you to get them some medical information and—"

Sebastian pulled the phone away, "I'll take it from here, Knox." He put the phone back up to his own ear, "He's wrong. We don't want information, we need it. And if you want your little boyfriend back at all, you'll give it to us."

William scowled. "It's Michaelis, isn't it? You filthy, conniving vermin. Is this because I nearly snipped your pretty little head off that night I found you crawling around, bottom-feeding?" he hissed into the phone.

Sebastian gave a small growl, "We haven't touched your pretty little boyfriend, Spears. And if you insist upon bringing that up, then I would be happy to change it. I'll even leave this contraption on so you could hear it!"

Claude rested a hand on his partner's shoulder soothingly.

"I'm sorry, but it's the damn truth," William responded "What the hell do you want?"

Sebastian paused, glancing at Claude and leaning in closer to him, "This isn't my way of getting back at you for that night we had that rather unfortunate luck to cross paths, Spears. I simply need some information that I think is within your power to get. If you do so, honestly. We will return your lover to you untouched and unharmed. If you don't. we'll keep him here to rot. That's the deal. Sound fair?"

There was a long silence. "The shinigami do not respond to hostage threats," he responded. "The secrets of our species will not be betrayed. And of course...the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"I never said it was Shinigami secrets I want. Really, I'd have no use for such knowledge. Unless, of course, you consider expanding my knowledge on the Thorns of Death to be top secret, in which case, I guess Mister Knox is forfeited."

"Tell me what you want to know then, Michaelis, stop playing around." William prayed it was something he could help with, because he needed Ronald. The truth was he loved him, and the last thing he could do was give his partner up to a demon. He couldn't do it.

"We need to know everything reapers know about the illness. Anything that could help…find a cure if we are lucky." He said simply, "Anything and everything about Thorns."

William rested his head against the desk. If he knew a cure for the Thorns he damn well would have gotten it for Alan. "Your disease is for demons! Surely it does not work in the same way, and thus has a different cure."

"Fames was derived from Thorns. It's a demonic mutation of the same illness. It had more similarities that you think." He paused, "If you help us on this, and we find a cure…We'll give the information back so you could cure your own ill-fated members of the reaper realm. What could it hurt?"

"I have a comrade who killed nearly 1000 people because he heard it 'might' cure his lover. Someone like you could do a lot worse," William responded.

"That option came out to be a dead end, then. We are looking for something a little more realistic. If it's lives and souls that was the cure, I would have been cured long ago."

William sighed. "A-alright. I'll see what I can do, and call you back as soon as I learn something. Just...don't hurt him."

"If anything, you can trust us to keep our word on how we treat him." Sebastian agreed, "We'll be waiting to hear from you. I'm sure I needn't tell you to make haste on it. I've no doubt how fond you are of young Ronald Knox."

" _Obviously_ ," William replied. "I won't be letting him down. This call is terminated now. Goodbye." He hung up after that, slumping against the desk a little. _Fuck_.

Sebastian lowered the phone, "He'll be contacting us back. I think we can trust we wont have to wait too long. He sounded desperate to get Knox back." Sebastian smirked, entertained by the amount of emotion he had heard in the man's voice. "These things have a surprisingly good connection, for a telephone that's not connected."

"Very interesting. Imagine what the humans would do if they got their hands on such devices," Claude said with a sigh. "He did not seem defiant. Lucky you, Mr. Knox, he'll hop straight to it."

"William will get it. If it's out there, he'll find it. He's good at gathering information." Ronald said confidently, "You'll see."

"I'll not doubt it. Of all the reapers I have seen, he seems the most capable." _And sane_ he added to himself, slipping the phone into his pocket, "But as it seems you'll be with us longer, could we get you anything within reason? Any requests for lunch?"

Claude leaned in and kissed his partner. "I'll take care of lunch for him, if you desire...would you like to go and see to our son, instead?"

"I suppose it'd be a nice break from cooking." He smiled, kissing the demon's cheek, "And it'd be good to test him on a few of his subjects. Maybe take him out to the gardens as it's a nice day out."

"You do that. I'm sure the boy will enjoy it. Test him on his knowledge of the natural world, though…don't let him have too much fun." He winked at him, a little smile passing over his own face.

The crow nodded, "Of course." He began to walk up the steps, "And then after lunch he can return to his music lessons that he weaseled himself out of yesterday."

When Sebastian was gone, the demon sighed, turning back to his prisoner. "Anyway...how can I accommodate you, Mr. Knox?"

Ronald had watched the exchange with interest, "Hu? Oh, I don't know. I'm not picky. Besides, I shouldn't be here long, anyway." He paused, deciding weather or not he should ask, "You two…seem almost human when you start talking about your 'son'. I didn't know demons had families."

Claude glanced up, almost surprised he had the audacity to ask. "He _is_ our son, we are a family, and we love him very much," he said simply. "Elijah is perfect."

Ronald put up his cuffed hands, "I didn't mean anything by it. I am just surprised. I was always told demons were heartless."

"To those that do wrong by us, certainly. But not my suffering lover, nor my condemned son. My black heart swells for them," he said curtly, adjusting his glasses.

"Condemned? What makes him condemned? He's just a kid, right? …even if he's a demon…" Ronald asked, honestly curious, though he didn't know why he was. Maybe because it was more interesting than sitting in the damp cellar alone.

Without a word, Claude just up and left the room. But he returned a short while later with a delicious, light lunch of salt and pepper squid in a fresh crispy noodle salad. He handed the man his food, while he himself held a bottle of Irish whiskey. "You asked about Elijah, right?"

The reaper nodded, "I'm curious, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He said, accepting the meal with a nod of thanks.

"I know little about how it works for shinigami, but...Sebastian carried our child. In our world...pregnant males have the child aborted, otherwise they are severely punished. But due to complications, we couldn't abort it. And...we kept the child," he muttered, taking a long sip of the whiskey and savoring the warmth running through him. "Despite it all."

Ronald blinked, "Why would you…or, no, you didn't, but your kind…why would they abort a child? The kid's still a kid! That's wrong to kill it just because it has two men as it's parents. I'm glad you kept him."

"I was of the same opinion until I had my own and realized it is no different," Claude muttered. He wasn't sure why he was telling this man, this reaper who would go and laugh it up with the others once he got back. But it was...an opportunity to vent healthily.

"We kept him, and it was good for almost a year until they discovered him. Not even a week ago, and my partner and I had our powers sealed away...and we were banished and cut off from Hell forever. Unless we kill the child. And Sebastian is a _prince_ , too..."

"…Explains his annoying pride on that ship…" Ronald muttered, "I may not know how Hell works, but it seems to me there is a few things wrong if they banished a prince because he had a baby."

"Obviously," Claude replied, drinking more of the substance. "But I prefer the human world anyway. My problem is that I am a Mage—nothing without my magic power, and I no longer have the ability to make the potion that will quell Sebastian's Fames attack. Without it, he'll die, so I am pressed to find the cure...or at least...somebody who can give me my powers back..."

"…which is why you kidnapped me." he nodded, "Which I'm still upset about…but at least now I can understand it. You want to keep the family you lost so much in order to keep." He smirked, unable to help himself from taking a jab at Sebastian's pride, even if the demon wasn't there. In his mind, Sebastian deserved it after the overtime he had helped cause. "You want to keep your son and his _mother_ safe and with you."

Claude's eye twitched, and within the minute, spiders swarmed Ronald's body. "Do not emasculate my partner," he said simply. "He is his father too." It was the least he could do without shattering his drink, or hitting the man. After a few moments they receded. "Watch your tongue, please."

Ronald shivered, but resisted the urge to start swatting at the arachnids. He didn't want to anger the demon further, after all. "Hey, after the amount of overtime he's caused me, I think I had a right to throw one insult at him!"

"Not at his masculinity, I'm afraid. An attitude like that is why male-grown children aren't accepted in Hell." He merely sipped at his drink some more, wondering if he'd gotten a new addiction. Maybe he should just dirnk Sebastian's blood some more. That might make him feel better.

Ronald fell silent for a while, eating a few bites of his lunch, "…how did he tell you? That he was pregnant? It…seems like a hard thing to admit as a man…"

"We did not consider it a pregnancy, but a parasite. He started showing symptoms that did not correlate with his illness. I diagnosed him once he started showing signs. Is the food nice?"

"Hu? Oh, yes. It's very good. Thank you." He nodded, seemingly distracted, "Are mages the same as doctors in Hell? You talk about it as if it is."

Claude was almost entertained, conversing with the blonde. "No. A mage is a magic-aspect demon, and I specialize in medicine. But a magic-aspect demon could specialize in...warfare, perhaps. The sciences, even," he explained patiently.

"Oh…so is being a mage just something a demon is born with? Not a career choice?" He was probably getting way too interested in the demon. Especially for William's tastes. But he didn't want to be left alone again, not yet if he could help it, and the man really was interesting.

"Yes. You have a particular affinity for a certain aspect. Mine is magic. Some choose aspects aside from their affinities, but it is much more difficult to learn. Some have no aspect at all. I am unsure as to my partner's aspect for example...he has never needed one, because he is royalty." He pursed his lips a little as he said it.

"Well…you might find out…if you son, what was his name? Elijah? If he takes after Sebastian…you'll know…unless its not hereditary…"

"So far all I know about Elijah is that he has nightmares, bed-wetting issues, and has taken to snacking on my fingers," he said, gesturing to his finger that still wielded a bandaid.

"He's a kid." Ronald shrugged, "They do that. How old is he?"

"Hn. 10 months, which would be approximate to 5 human years." Claude sat back, taking a deeper drink of his whiskey. "The biting is a hereditary thing, though, and I can excuse his issues because he is so young. But he doesn't seem pulled in any particular direction yet...unless it's towards the cake."

"What kid doesn't have a pull towards cake?" Ronald laughed, "Better than souls, at least. Well…from my stand-point." He finished his lunch and set the dishes aside, "He's growing so fast. No wonder you were talking about keeping him learning."

Claude was surprised to see the blonde crack a smile. "He has to. We need to keep his mental age appropriate to his physical. It's difficult if the parents' intelligence is poor. Then the children are...stunted. But Sebastian and I are more than equal to the task, not to brag."

"Well, I do hope you let the poor boy have some time to play." He said, "It's healthy. Even for demons, I'm sure."

Claude nodded, getting up. "He is rewarded if he keeps up with his studies," he remarked. "He would like you, Mr. Knox, I am sure."

"Well, if I ever meet him, I'd rather not be sitting in a reaper trap…just in case he doesn't like me. I may never have fought you, but I have Sebastian. And if he's anywhere near as strong as him, I'd not stand a chance scytheless and unable to move more than three steps in any direction."

Claude nodded. "I suppose the anger of a child is far less rational than the anger of an adult. But truly, the child rarely gets angry. One would liken him to an angel before they would a demon."

"Angels are no more innocent than a demon or reaper." Ronald shrugged, "They just claim to be. Besides. If something happened and he did get upset, I'm sure you and Sebastian would come to his aid."

"Angels in the lore sense, of course," Claude replied. "I think rather, we would be coming to your aid. He's strong...or...he was strong, until his powers were sealed like the rest of us." He kicked a chip of brick along the floor a little.

"Wait…they locked up his powers too? He didn't do anything! Sure, you and your lover broke rules by keeping him, but he's just a kid. He can't help being born!" the blond gasped.

"Tell that to the jury of Hell," Claude responded irritably. "Would you like to meet Elijah tonight? I doubt anything particularly interesting is going to happen regarding your lover tonight, so it couldn't hurt..."

"…only if you promise he doesn't bite." He joked, "I haven't been around little kids in a long time…since I was human, really." He added, wondering why it felt so easy to be talking to his kidnapper as if they were friends.

Claude glanced at his finger. "I don't think he'd find you all that tasty, if it's any consolation," he replied in all serious. He took his whiskey. "I will take my leave now." He nodded to him in farewell.

Ronald nodded, "Thanks. For entertaining me for a little while at least." He offered up a smile.

Claude strode out of the dungeon after that, sighing deeply to himself. On top of the alcohol, he actually felt quite a bit better after speaking with the reaper. Venting, of course.

* * *

To be continued...


	30. Chapter 30

Later that evening after dinner, Elijah stretched out on his stomach near the fireplace, reading a book he had propped open on the floor. His hands at his jaw and his feet kicking mindlessly behind him. Sebastian was lost in his own book, sitting comfortably in the high-backed chair a few feet away from his son. Or at least, he seemed to be lost in it. He sighed and looked up from its pages, looking across at his lover, "You seem to have your mind on something." He commented.

Claude glanced up from his embroidery. "You mean aside from our current predicament?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. He was also a little moody. Twice he'd accidentally stabbed himself on the needles, though they weren't terribly sharp.

"Yes." The crow got up and crossed over to sit on the armrest of his lover's chair, looking at the project he had been working on, and spotting the marks left by a needle on Claude's fingertips, "You're distracted at least."

Claude glanced up at his partner, running his hand along his thigh. "Our situation is enough to distract me still," he said glumly, now resting his head against the man's soft thigh. "...Which somewhat reminds me...would you mind if I took Elijah to meet our visitor?"

Sebastian frowned, "Do you think that would be wise? If all goes to plan, he'll be leaving soon."

Elijah looked up from his book, "We have a visitor, father?"

"The man cannot hurt him. I spoke with him earlier, and he knows we have a child. Will it really be so bad?" He sat back up, setting his embroidery aside for a moment.

"…I suppose not." He sighed and slipped onto Claude's lap, "Sorry, I'm just…cautious after loosing our powers. And he isn't a human sitting down there. He's a reaper."

"The reaper can do nothing, and I will be with him," Claude replied. He held his partner close for a minute before murmuring, "besides...I think I may have thought of something that could get our powers back...but don't ask what yet. We will discuss it later."

The crow mock-pouted, "Now you are teasing me, saying something like that and then forbidding me from asking. He leaned in and planted a soft kiss to his lips, "If you think it's safe, then go ahead. He has an hour before bedtime, anyways." He nodded towards the boy who was now sitting on his knees, watching his parents curiously.

Claude smiled a little to it. "It is safe. We won't be gone terribly long, love, so...I'll meet you back here soon." He got up and crossed to the boy. "Would you like to meet someone, sweetheart? He is quite friendly."

The boy grinned and got up, "Who is he? Is he a kid like me? Can we play games?" he closed his book and put it on the table before hurrying over to Claude.

Claude took his child's hand. "He is young, but not a child...and I am afraid there is not many games you can play," he said as he began to walk. "But come along with me anyway..."

The boy walked with Claude excitedly, squeezing his hand. He hardly ever got to actually meet new people, "What's he like? Why is he here? When did he get here? Didn't he want to have dinner with us?"

Claude patiently answered his child's questions as he unlocked the door to the staircase leading to the dungeon, which Elijah was forbidden to enter. "The man's name is Ronald Knox. He is a shinigami—those who reap the souls of the dead. You have not met one of these before, but I imagine you will find him amiable if you are on your best behavior. He's been here a few days...and he eats by himself. Come along now."

The boy hesitated, "You said I can't go down there, father…can't he come up here to see me? It's dark…" he peered down the dark stone steps, seeing only a dim flicker in the distance.

Claude held his hand tighter. "No, he has to stay where he is. And don't worry, Elijah...you have nothing to fear down here. There are only the spiders, and they are your friends..." He approached the door, reaching for the next key on the handle.

"You'll stay, right? You won't leave me down there?" he asked, hoping he wouldn't be scolded for fearing the dark room. He just couldn't help it.

Claude sighed. "...I'll linger," he responded, opening the door. The first thing he smelt was chocolate—he'd set a freshly made mud cake down on the table that the two could eat whilst they bonded. The main reason he was doing this was not for Ronald's sake, but for Elijah's. He lamented that Elijah could not make friends, despite the fact that demons never really made friends anyway. He brought him through, seeing Ronald's figure illuminated by an oil lamp.

Elijah walked close to his father until they stepped into the small circle of light cast by the oil lamp on the table. He looked up at Claude before hurrying over to the lamp and turning it up so that there was a little more light before turning to focus on Ronald.

The reaper had been lost in his thoughts, and hardly realized that he had been joined by the two spider demons until the light was turned brighter. He turned around in his chair and upon seeing the little boy, he smiled, "Hello. You must be Elijah."

Elijah perked up when he saw the blonde reaper, and he shyly tugged Claude over to the man. "Remember, you cannot enter the circle, love," Claude warned as Elijah was about to run over.

Elijah pouted a little, and held his tiny, black-tipped hand out to the reaper. "I'm Elijah!" he said brightly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Shinigami. Ronald Knox."

"Just 'Ron' would be fine." The reaper said, holding a gentle smile as he reached out to shake the demon boy's hand, thankful that he could without the trap stopping him from the simple action, "I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to meet you before I go home."

Claude offered them both the chocolate cake and sat himself back, bringing out his embroidery and sitting a fair distance away to let the two chatter.

Elijah sat on the outside of the circle, happily cutting a slice of cake for himself and Ronald.

"Hey, is it true that you steal demons food away and make them starve?" he asked as he handed him some of the food on a plate.

"What? No. I mean…" The reaper rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess…you could see it that way…But, the whole reason shinigami exists is to collect human souls to be judged when they die. From our point of view; demons steal souls. Especially the ones who just show up and try to take them. The demons who form contracts…we don't normally have a problem with. And I don't know about your father there," he nodded in Claude's direction as he took the offered slice of cake, "But I know your other father forms contracts. Reapers are supposed to protect human souls from angels and demons."

Elijah began to eat. "And what about little demons like me who can't get souls for ourselves yet? What about when it's an emergency, when we are sick, and we would die without souls?" he asked, his citrine eyes staring in a spooky sort of way at Ronald. "Even my father who was contracted had no choice because he would die, and _I_ would die...if he had not."

"I have never run into such a situation, myself." He shrugged, "At least that I know of…" he frowned, "I never thought of kid demons before, really…"

Elijah smiled at him. "My parents were right, then...the shinigami do not think much." He gestured to the cake. "Please eat up, Ron."

"Hey, we think plenty! We just have a job to do and when we fail at it we get punished with unbelievable amounts of overtime. We aren't like demons, we actually _need_ sleep. And overtime can interfere with that which in turn causes more mistakes and more overtime." Ronald protested, but picked up his fork and took a bite of the cake.

Elijah observed him. "Overtime," he echoed. "Sounds awful. I mean, starvation is one thing, but overti—"

"Elijah," said Claude sharply, "be polite. He is what he is."

Elijah nodded obediently. "I apologize. I don't like the thought of my daddies being sick and hungry," he said softly.

"Apart from my getting kid—brought here by your fathers, I've only met Sebastian a few times while out on a job. And our fights were not over souls but the order of his master. Nor was I the one charged with collecting his master's soul. That was Eric-senpai and he willingly took on the overtime and let Sebastian have the soul."

Elijah nodded. "That was nice of him. I would not have been born otherwise," he said gently, smiling at how good the cake was. "You are not all bad, just like not all demons are bad." He sighed, looking wise beyond his years. "I wish we could all just be friends and share."

"A tempting idea…but I doubt the Higher Reapers would like that idea. Heck, I think it's safe to assume that my own lover would dismiss it without a thought." Ron sighed, taking another bite of his cake, "How'd we even start off on the topic of work, anyway?"

Elijah crossed his legs. "I'm just going off what I've been told about you. It appears I am a poor conversationalist. I will attempt to do better in the future." He stuffed some more cake in his mouth. "You are more than your species, of course. You probably don't know much about me, and neither do I know much about you."

"I know you speak like someone much older than you look. Yet you are younger than you look…what was it your father said? Ten months old? I'm impressed." He slouched over, leaning closer to the little demon, "And it's not that you are not good at conversing. It's just that normally kids would want to talk about more interesting things than work. Such as, what's your favorite game?"

Elijah sighed again, but it was more childish this time. "I don't really know any games. I learn about lots of things, but not games. And even if I did...I have no one to play with," he said softly. "I have no friends." He looked up at Ronald with big eyes. "Will you be my friend?"

"Eh? No friends? No games? Haven't you even gone outside and throw a ball back and forth with one of your dads? Or a game of chess on a rainy day? Seems Chess would be a game you'd be good at. You seem smart enough! I couldn't get the hang of it until I was ten."

"I am very good at chess," said Elijah, looking back down and lowering the hand he'd extended in friendship. "But it's not very fun..."

Claude shifted in faint discomfort from where he sat, hanging on their every word.

"Well, if your dads will let us, how about you come back down for an hour tomorrow. I'll teach you a better game. One I used to play with my younger brother. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with you having an hour break from your studies." Ronald said, taking the boy's small hand.

Elijah looked down at the physical contact, then over at his father hopefully.

Claude eventually nodded. "Depends how long until William calls back," he replied.

"William?" asked Elijah. "William Spears? Oh, Sebastian told me _a lot_ about him. He tried to kill Sebastian when he was helpless, if I remember..."

"He did?" Ronald frowned, "When was that?" he looked at Claude, "That seems cold, even for Will."

"The child doesn't lie," replied Claude. "It was I who saved Sebastian from the edge of death. He was having an attack at the time..."

"William sounds mean," said Elijah softly. "Trying to kill Sebastian."

"It doesn't matter," said his father, "because hopefully, it will be William who saves him."

"…Will wouldn't want that credit." Ronald muttered, setting down his plate, "But I'm sure he'll contact you soon with the information. He's not… _completely_ heartless…at least…not to me."

Claude gave a derisive huff and stood. "Come, Elijah. If no word has arrived from William by tomorrow, you may come back to see Ronald. It's time to start getting ready for bed..."

Ronald nodded, "As much as I'm ready to get out of here, I hope to see you again, Elijah." Ronald smiled, "Everyone needs a friend and some time to have fun."

Elijah pouted and said goodbye to Ronald, leaving the room with Claude.

"..What do you think of him?" Claude asked as the ascended the stairs.

Elijah shrugged. "I'm not sure if I like him or not," he replied honestly, after a short pause.

Eventually they returned to the furnished floors where it was better lit.

Sebastian was leaving the library, heading their way, "I was about to go down to tell you it was about time for bed." He said as he approached, placing a hand on his son's head, "How did it go?"

Elijah shrugged. "He's alright, I guess," he replied, looking up at his father. "It feels bad to be friends with what he is, though...he didn't accept my friendship offer, either...so..." He shrugged, walking with his parents to get his nightclothes.

"Well, he is here against his will. He's probably not very trusting of us." Sebastian shrugged and opened the door to the boy's bedroom, walking over to the wardrobe, "Here, put this on and go about your nightly routine. And don't forget to go to the bathroom."

"Uh huh," Elijah mumbled, taking the nightgown and shuffling off.

Claude went with Sebastian to his own bedroom, getting into some comfortable pajamas. "It seems that man might have upset our child," he murmured as he buttoned his top. "I am starting to regret saying we couldn't harm him."

"What did he say?" The smaller demon asked as he slipped into his night shirt and started to button it up, "I hope it was nothing too upsetting."

"Well, the very first thing that sprung to Elijah's mind was to ask if they really were responsible for starving demons," Claude replied, heading into the bathroom. "It was all rather rocky. The child has learnt sarcasm, I noted," he added when he returned.

Sebastian sighed, "I see. He brought up the thing our races have the biggest disagreement over. I can understand if in that conversation the reaper said things to upset him…and he to upset Knox." He then walked into the bathroom himself to ready himself for the night before returning and slipping into the bed, "Probably a good thing. If they had become friends, Elijah might have grown upset when Knox leaves."

Claude joined him too, entwining their bodies briefly before Elijah would come to slide between them.

"I want that reaper out of here," he said irritably. "That damn William better call or I'm going to start removing nails."

"He will. Spears actually loves him. He'll get what we need even if he has to break reaper protocol." He hummed, wrapping his arms around him and breathing in his lover's scent, "But if he's slow at it there's no harm in giving spears a little more motivation. We could even let him hear the screams."

Claude ran his tongue up Sebastian's neck. "Maybe a little psychological torture couldn't hurt...not as if we're laying a hand on him then, is it?" he said slyly, resting his hand against Sebastian's back.

"No, it isn't." he ran his fingers through Claude's hair and captured his lips, nipping at his tongue, "I love it when you get all sadistic." He purred.

"Nh," was Claude's response as his tongue was nipped. "Yes, you do, Malphas. But do you prefer it aimed at you, or other people?" he smirked.

"Myself, certainly. But there are benefits to watching as well." Sebastian smirked, "Though it would be cause to make sure Elijah would not walk in on us when you have finished."

Claude groaned at the thought, holding the man's thigh tightly. "Is one hour to ourselves so much to ask for...really..." He brought his lips to Sebastian's, savoring being able to kiss him while he still could.

"Is one hour even enough?" he moaned against his lips, sliding a hand up Claude's shirt and trailing his fingertips over his toned abs, "We have to do something about getting some alone time…"

"Maybe if we made it very quick," Claude muttered, unhappily separating himself from Sebastian as he heard Elijah's footsteps. "Come on in, Elijah."

The boy scuttled into their room, clutching his duck toy.

The crow flashed a small pout as Elijah entered the room, replying in a quiet voice; "I miss not having to worry about being quick…" Sebastian held up the blanket as their son slipped down between them.

Claude sighed, ruffling Elijahs hair as a silent way of letting him know he was still loved. They'd find time...Elijah was worth it. "How are your studies going?"

"Good." The boy said, snuggling down between his fathers and hugging his duck, "Right, father?" he looked to Sebastian, who nodded.

"You did exceptionally well today…apart from snapping a string on your violin. You're lucky it didn't hit your cheek or eye."

The boy pouted, "It wasn't my fault! I barely touched it!"

Claude held the boy close between them. "You have to remember your strength...even without your powers, your physical strength is immense and must be kept in check." A nostalgic look crossed his face for a minute. "I was always breaking things when I was younger. Glasses especially..."

"I did as well." Sebastian nodded, "It's good to learn control. Especially now. If it had cut your cheek it wouldn't heal right away like it normally would. We don't want you hurt."

Elijah nodded, "I'll try."

Claude settled down against the pillows, putting his glasses aside. "Sleep well," he told his child. "You're in no danger with us."

"I know, Father." He smiled, stretching to kiss Claude's cheek, then doing the same to Sebastian before finally settling down and letting himself drift off to sleep as Sebastian blew out the candles.

* * *

To be continued...


	31. Chapter 31

The next morning began as any other morning did for the family of demons. Elijah had a clean and nightmare free night, and Claude got up with him to go and prepare breakfast. Sebastian still had more of a necessity to sleep, so they usually let him lie, though lately they saved a portion for the demon as he had also taken to eating breakfast.

Claude also made some for the reaper, though he didn't linger to chat with him. There had been no call from William yet.

Once Sebastian finally awoke, he went about his morning routine to ready himself for the day before walking down to the kitchen to eat the breakfast that awaited him. He ate it quickly and cleaned his dishes before seeking out his lover who had Ronald's portable phone. Finding the demon, he leaned on the doorway, "Any word from Spears yet?"

Claude was in the music room with his son, again performing the Mozart concerto piece, trying to really nail in that last section that Elijah had had issues with. Claude glanced at him, as they were in the middle of playing, and said nothing until they were finished. A marked improvement and he told Elijah so as he gave him a strawberry frosted biscuit as positive reinforcement for his good work.

"No, Sebastian. No word yet."

A look of disappointment crossed the crow's face, "I see…" he sighed and stepped into the room, "I suppose it hasn't even been twenty-four hours yet…but the man is usually so prompt…"

"But also, I assume, not one to deliver a poor effort, either. If it's taking time, he must be working hard." He reached for a frosted biscuit himself, munching in thought for a minute. The thought had occurred to him while he showered that morning that maybe William was currently launching an attack against them...he hoped sincerely that that was not the case.

"True…" Sebastian walked over to Elijah's music stand and looked at the sheets, picking up a pen to mark a place he had heard a mistake so that the boy would pay a little closer attention to the note formation, "I'm just…strangely nervous about this situation."

" _It's okay_ ," Claude said in French. " _If Spears doesn't come through, we can have a lovely little pet to play with and eventually kill_."

Sebastian looked down, " _And we'll be back at the beginning, with no lead for a cure…_ " he looked back up through his eyelashes at his lover, " _I'd rather he follow through_."

"Fathers!" Elijah wined, "Teach me French too! I hate not knowing what you are saying when you do this!"

Claude just petted his child's head affectionately. " _The satisfaction I will receive from the pet does not outweigh the despair I will experience if we receive nothing from this escapade. So I hope he does come through too._ " He looked down at the pouting child before murmuring, "Some things, darling, are better off not being understood."

"Why not? It's rude to leave me out of the conversation!"

"I'll bake you a cake to make it up to you." Sebastian said with a small smile, "Come, I want to hear you practicing." He tapped the music stand.

Claude glanced down. "Ah, see Sebastian has been kind enough to annotate your errors for you. You should be thankful." At that very moment though, the phone buzzed in his pocket, and he started as it vibrated and started making loud noises. He yanked it from his pocket and pressed it down on the table, stepping back.

Sebastian stared at the device, cringing at the unusual digital sound that assaulted his ears. He approached it, wanting it to stop, but then the thought hit him. It was a phone. Maybe this was how it rang. Scowling, he grabbed it and studied it before choosing to hit the button that he had used to call William in the first place. The sound stopped, and with a sigh, he risked looking like a fool by putting it up to his ear, "…Spears?"

"Took you long enough," came the cold and scathing tones of William T. Spears. "Difficulty figuring the device out?" The voice was unnaturally loud, as if from a speaker. Claude could hear it well, and he scowled in return.

"Sebastian scowled, "This thing is unnecessarily loud! I hope humans never get such technology." He said, pulling it away from his ear a bit, "But never mind that. You have the information?"

There was something that sounded like mocking laughter on the other end before William responded. "I have the name of a man who can assist you," he replied.

Claude paced back and forth as William spoke. " _And it'd better be the right name, or we will mercilessly torment your little blonde,_ " he muttered, again in French, as if it was for the sake of Elijah's innocence. He expected that a man as well-educated and sophisticated as William Spears would know the language of romance.

"And we will, too." Sebastian confirmed, "So this person better be helpful. Tell us who they are and where we can find them or contact them."

William snarled. "If you lay one finger from him I will personally rend your flesh from your bones," he hissed, "Make no mistake about that. I have missed an entire days worth of work, and a night's worth of sleep, to get the name of a man who lives only a few damn kilometers from you, useless creatures that you are. I would suggest you go to the Undertaker."

"…The Undertaker…" Sebastian frowned, "You are pawning the task off on him?" his eye twitched irritably. They had been trying to avoid contacting the retired reaper, "Understand that we'll not be returning your lover to you until we get information. Are you sure you want to rest the fate of Ronald Knox in _his_ hands? _If we don't return him to you we'll do what we wish to him, you know. He's ours right now_."

William growled a little at the threat to his lover. " _Are you sure you want the whole of London Dispatch after your filthy heads?_ "

Elijah gave a loud sigh of frustration. "Stop talking that language!" he said vehemently.

Sebastian shot his son a warning look to stay quiet. The last thing he wanted was for William to know about the boy. " _Getting a little personal, aren't we, Spears? I meant it in a fair warning._ "

William was silent for a moment. Just now, he could swear he'd heard... "You made it personal when you involved my partner," he said darkly. "And I am not above using personal means to get at you if you harm him."

Elijah's eyes flashed a little and he bared his teeth, angered at this man who had hurt his family before, "I think a man who hides behind a telephone is cowardly!"

" _Be silent_ ," commanded Claude.

" _Doesn't change the fact that we have Knox and the only way you'll get him back safe and sound in your bed or office, wherever you prefer to fuck him, is if we give him back. Even if you found his location you'll be unable to get him. So I suggest being a little more understanding you bigoted reaper!_ " Sebastian said, raising his voice in hopes of hiding Elijah's.

Claude sent Elijah out the door quickly, then returned to soothe his partner, kissing at the back of his neck. "Try and be civil, both of you," he interjected. "We will see the Undertaker soon. But...if he cannot be of assistance, well...we needn't dissolve into threats again."

William sighed. "Very well. Get it done so you can stop wasting my time already."

"Oh? Saving your lover is a waist of time to you?" Sebastian snapped, still on edge but relaxing back against his lover, "Stay by—or with your wireless telephone contraption. We'll contact you again after we visit the Undertaker. Oh, and spears…if it's a trap, know that Knox's location and safety is forfeit."

There was naught but a 'tch' sound on William's end before he hung up.

Claude sighed deeply, running a hand through the man's hair. "Did I ever tell you how sexy you sound when you're shouting in French~?"

The smaller demon allowed his lips to turn upwards slightly, "No, but I don't think you ever have heard me do so before now." He sighed and turned around, resting his cheek on his lover's shoulder, "I had been trying to avoid the old reaper…and now we have to go to him anyway."

Claude petted his lover, kissing him lightly. "But if he can help, Sebastian, if he can help you...are you willing to pay the price?"

He nodded, "I don't…want to leave you and Elijah…" he slipped his arms around him, "The three of us…we are all each other has left, and…damn it…" he cursed, feeling the prickle of tears in his eyes.

Claude made the man face him, holding him close to his chest. "Now, now...you're just frustrated...But you mustn't cry. I think...we might...get a break for once, Malphas."

"I hope so…" Sebastian sighed, staying in his lover's arms in silence for a moment, "…I'm also torn as to weather or not we should take Elijah with us… My first instinct would be to leave him home in case it is a trap…but I don't like the idea of traveling that far away from him should something happen."

"Could we find Faelan dependable for this task?" Claude questioned. "I'd been planning on utilizing him for this…" Claude stepped back from the man, meeting his gaze.

"He's the only one I can trust with our son in such a situation. Though I feel bad calling on him so much. He has his freedom after all."

"He is partially responsible for Elijah being alive. It's the least he could do," Claude replied. "And...I...did something today," he whispered. "In the early hours of the morning..." He looked down at his gloves, pursing his lips a little.

"…What did you do?" he asked, following his gaze as if he'd find the answer upon his hands. He took hold of his gloved hand and ran his thumb over it lovingly.

Claude stepped over to the window, slowly slipping the gloves off and looking down at the fierce black burns over his palms. "I feel...almost...filled with grace," he whispered, staring out at the green meadows.

"Claude…" Sebastian followed him to the window and gently taking his blackened hand, "…You…" he looked up to meet his eyes, "…prayed?"

Claude nodded after a minute. "Yes. I was...afraid. And though He hurt me, I...can't help but feel...warmth, inside...like none of the other times. As if we have been punished enough. As if He might be lenient on me, on you...on our son…for once."

Sebastian's gaze fell back down to the black hand in his own before he reached up to touch the cut on his chest in the shape of a crucifix that had yet to heal over, "Do you really think he'd be merciful to us?"

"Maybe we're going to find out," Claude said gently. He leaned against his partner. "It's not as if I...have an affiliation to Hell anymore. Maybe He'll listen..."

"None of us do." He nodded and sighed, taking his hand and licking along a blackened finger to see if it would do any good. But he wasn't surprised when his saliva did nothing on the holy burn. "If Undertaker can not help us…we may have to turn to them," He sighed, "as much as I would hate to do so."

Claude sighed, leaning in to kiss the man's cheek in appreciation. "Let's not think about that. We have work to do now, Sebastian. I would suggest we get to it."

Sebastian nodded, "I'll try calling for Faelan. You should go make sure Knox won't be moving. Maybe throw up a few more reaper traps just in case." He suggested.

"Fine," Claude replied. "See you soon..." He exited the room, only to find the triplets hovering by Elijah. The boy looked uneasy, and the triplets...he didn't like the taste of their auras. "Avnas," he said softly, "come here."

The boy didn't have to be told twice; hurrying to his father's side and grabbing his gloved hand, glancing back at the Triplets.

Claude also glanced back at the three, who had begun whispering to themselves. He'd been so distracted, he hadn't spoken to the three yet. "You spoke out of turn, Elijah," he told the boy. His son looked quite shaken up, Claude didn't have the heart to scold. "Take better care, next time. Now, Faelan is going to take care of you for a while," he said gently.

"I'm sorry…But I didn't like how he was talking to Sebastian!" he tore his gaze away from the three identical demons and looked up at his father, "He should have been nicer."

"I would say that, but if he had taken Sebastian from me, I would be just as angry..." He shivered, glad to be away from the three, who were almost unnerving him at this point.

"...Did they say anything to you, boy?" he asked as he escorted him to his study.

The boy shook his head, "They never talk to me. But they feel…creepy. I don't like the way they look at me."

Claude had seen one of them—Canterbury, he believed, touching poor Elijah's shoulder. "I will restrict their physical contact privileges," he murmured, absentmindedly thinking of what the triplets got up to with _each other_ in the dead of night. "Please go about your studies until Faelan comes, now."

Elijah hesitated before nodding, "Yes, Father…" he said, moving away to go back to his studies. Really, he didn't want to leave his father's side in case the triplets showed up again.

Claude sensed Elijah's unease...the triplets must really have shaken him up. "You'll be safe with Faelan. He has always protected you, hasn't he?" he said in a gentle tone.

The boy nodded, "I like him. He's nice." He put his hand on the doorknob to the study, "…will he be here soon?"

"Very soon, as soon as Sebastian can summon him," Claude replied. "You'll be alright for a minute. I'll be going to inform the reaper of our departure now." He knelt before Elijah, drawing him into a brief hold. "You'll be safe..."

"Okay." He hugged his father, "But you and Sebastian need to stay safe too! I don't like how that reaper sounded on that strange phone!"

Claude rested his large hand on Elijah's tiny shoulder. "We will be," he promised. "Don't you worry about us. Together, we are nigh unstoppable." He kissed his cheek and stood up, bidding him farewell and leaving him alone in the study.

It frustrated Sebastian how long it took to gather enough power to summon the albino demon when it used to be such a simple and easy thing to do with barely a thought. But finally he was able to, and he thanked Faelan for agreeing to babysit again. He made sure that Faelan and Elijah were together in the study before heading down to join Claude, and help him should he still be reinforcing their hold on Ronald.

Seeing there wasn't much Ronald could do, Claude only added one additional reaper trap before heading out. They were going to London, so he dressed neatly and warmly for the occasion.

"This Undertaker," Claude said to his partner as he dressed, "...he is an enemy of yours?"

"It's…complicated." He said, slipping a nice jacket over his vest and ascot, buttoning it up and fixing the cuffs, "He has been an informant, sometimes helpful, other times not, an ally, and an enemy. What he is depends on his mood and view of the situation. He can be…unpredictable. Even to his own kin." He paused to slip a coat on over his suit, "He's fought against reapers and broken reaper laws before. So his alliance is with himself."

The spider demon heaved a sigh. "Well, maybe that's better for us, in the end, as we are also only allied with ourselves." He took a glance at his pocket watch, and then headed to the front door. Thunder growled overhead, but there was no rain.

Sebastian sighed, grabbing the umbrella, just in case, before joining his lover, "I just hope he's in a more helpful mood, than a troublesome one." He slipped his arm through Claude's as they started down the path to the road. Once to the road, the two took off, zipping down London and only slowing when they reached the inner city. The streets were mostly empty, probably due to the impending storm.

"This way." The crow said, pulling him down an alley near the center of town. They approached a small grim little shop with a battered sign over the front of the building that simply said 'Undertaker', "Of course, you met him before, I expect…when you brought him Ciel's body for me." he added as he pushed open the door, a small bell ringing as they entered the dimly lit shop. The walls lined with coffins.

"Yes...of course," Claude murmured, frowning at the unpleasant memory which resurfaced...of his mercy killing of the poor boy. It made him pause for a brief moment, without even thinking...how much he had opened up since then.

Sebastian parted from his lovers side and walked further into the shop, looking around as he tried to suppress the small twinge of sorrow he still felt for Ciel's death. How many times had the two of them walked into that very same shop looking for information? How many times had the old reaper poked and prodded as he asked the young earl if he was ready to purchase a coffin? And…he wondered about the look on the mortician's face when he received Ciel's body and how the boy's last visit to that very shop was without his butler…when he was finally placed within a coffin and prepared for his funeral…

Sebastian pushed the thoughts from his mind before he could truly loose himself to them; "Undertaker?" he called out, hoping the old reaper was in.

There was the sound of shuffling coming from the back room, and the door slowly creaked open with a loud moan. A rough, but strangely high-pitched giggle following it, "Hehehe, yeeees?" the reaper's head poked around the door. White bangs covering his reaper eyes, and long white tresses falling over his tilted shoulder, nearly brushing the floor in his crooked position. His head lacking the large floppy hat he normally wore. When the man spotted the demons, he straightened up, walking out into his shop completely, a trail of drool running out the corner of his grinning mouth as he shifted in his formless robes. "My, my~ If it isn't Sebastian Michalis." The man chuckled, approaching the demon, "Though with the young earl gone that mightn't be your name any longer. What might you be called now? Oh, but I hadn't expected to be seeing you again~"

"I've kept the name." Sebastian said simply, "I would have thought you'd be expecting this visit."

"Should I have? Ah, I'm afraid I've been busy if you had sent word of visitation…" he giggled and sat upon a coffin, looking between the two demons, "I haven't checked mail in three days~"

Claude was half a minute behind Sebastian—just now, there was a pang of sadness inside him at the memory, and he quickly had to gather his composure. They were here to find a cure to Sebastian's illness...the very illness that had been responsible for Ciel's death.

Claude hung back just a little, watching the man wander out. Poor Sebastian didn't even know he had essentially killed his young master...and he hoped sincerely that today would not be the day he found out.

He gave a nod of greeting to the eccentric old reaper, folding his scarred hands behind his back. He pressed them together, though it hurt, hoping that this pain he felt and had endured prior would not have been without benefit.

"It would have been word from William Spears." The crow said, "We—"

"Oh, the poor dear. I've heard he has been quite worried the last few says or so." Undertaker chuckled, tapping his chin with a long black nail, "Something about young Ronald Knox not showing up to work, from what I hear. It had Miss Sutcliff in quite a mood. He nearly went on a killing spree." he laughed, "Now you wouldn't know anything about all that, would you?"

Claude just frowned. "We did what we had to, to gain information. If you can help us, blondie goes back to Spears, and..." He trailed off as he saw a spider drop down to greet him. He intercepted it, whispering gently to it and listening to it. "We were told you are the only one who could help us."

"Maybe! It depends entirely on what you need help with, my dear." The reaper smiled, reaching over to tap Claude on the nose.

"Thorns of Death." Sebastian said, "What do you know about it?"

Undertaker turned away from Claude and approached Sebastian again, leaning in uncomfortably close, "Ah, but don't you mean Fames? Surely that topic would be more useful to you than Thorns~" he giggled and pulled back, "Though I suppose they are one in the same when you think about it."

Claude folded his arms. "You are very right, mortician. Thorns is thus far incurable, right? But our variant...Aeterna Fames...do not tell us there is no hope." His jaw set firmly. "Tell us there is a cure. We will do whatever is necessary to acquire it."

"My dear, of course there is a cure. There is a cure for everything. The trick is to match up the right cure with the right illness. Thorns and Fames have both just been unsuccessful thus-far. But might I say how cute it is to see a demon worry so much for another."

"Can you tell us anything that can help us find the cure?" Sebastian sighed, trying to stay tolerant with the reaper.

"Not ready to die yet, Sebastian?" he teased, "Ah, well, I certainly can help, but you should know I have a price for any such information."

Claude kept his spider close—it was partially keeping his stress down.

"Like I said, whatever is necessary," he said firmly. "Whatever you wish of us."

"Well, how much help do you want? Simply the icing; or the whole cake?" he asked, sitting back down and pulling out a jar full of bone cookies.

Sebastian blinked, "…You mean, you have more than information?"

Claude stared hard at the man. "Do you think we'd come here looking for less than everything you could offer in way of assistance?" he asked, gritting his teeth to stay neutral. He wasn't sure if he should be excited, or angry, or even frightened...why anything at all?

"My dear Sebastian, I am a bored man. Why would I leave it at simple information when I could begin experiments once more? My dear, lovely Bizarre Dolls were not simply tools for chaos, you know. They had a greater purpose. One that failed, but gave me quite the entertainment later." He laughed and held out the jar to the two demons, "Cookie?"

Claude wasn't one to turn down sweets usually, but now human food felt revolting to him once more. And upon further inspection it looked as if it could have been a dog biscuit anyway. He politely declined, stepping closer to his partner. His heart seemed to beat a little faster, and he didn't know how long he could remain patient.

When both demons turned down his treat, the man tucked them away again, "I of course, would need your help." He looked at Claude, "Which it seems would not be a problem. The powers of a mage-demon would be very useful~ Other than that; you know my price, Sebastian. Show me that utopia of laughter once more!"

Claude swallowed. "...If you're about to tell me that the cure for your disease will be found by amusing a retired reaper, I think I may just hit something," he said, feeling the dull prickle of his old head wound one more.

"Of course not! Laughter is my price, my dear, a cure would come from hard work and a collaborative effort for an unknown length of time."

Sebastian sighed, "…Claude can't use his magic." He admitted softly, "We have been cut off from Hell."

"Well then we'll just have to unlock them so he can! Mage magic makes things so conveniently easier. Come now. Tell me a joke worthy of this task~"

Claude rubbed his forehead, scowling. "Well...if you'll excuse me for a minute," he muttered, leaving the dank old shop and stepping out into the alley for some fresh air. It wasn't as if he wanted to see his lover behaving in an undignified manner, anyway...

Sebastian was glad for the privacy, and took the opportunity to fulfill the reaper's request.

It took only a moment before laughter exploded from the reaper's lips, shaking the very foundation of the shop and knocking the sign outside loose, causing it to clatter to the ground.

The mortician cackled happily, draping himself over a coffin as he slowly came down from his laughter-high. "Ah~ you truly know how to bring me utopia, Michaelis! Hehehe~"

Claude looked up in vague surprise. Clearly Sebastian was skilled at telling jokes. He wondered faintly what else he didn't know about him. He hovered outside for a little longer, until the prickling faded. He certainly didn't want to risk blowing up and taking a seizure again, after all, he'd thought those days were over.

Once Undertaker was able to calm himself down enough, though still in a fit of giggles, he got up and swept across the room, opening a cabinet and pulling down a crudely put together leather-bound book, "I have been working on finding a more realistic cure for Thorns for centuries." He said, sitting down with the book and opening it, "This book contains all the knowledge the reapers have on the illness…as well as what I myself have found out about it and it's connection to your own Fames."

Claude crept back inside, seeking out his partner again and leaning lightly against him as he peered over at the book. "Hmnh...That is a handy tome of information, I'm sure…Mr. Undertaker, how easy do you think it will be to give me back my powers?"

"It's time-consuming, but I had done such before once." He said, "You would need a full day for the process…and then a day or two to rest as your powers settle back in properly. Otherwise they may just go haywire and drive you into madness. Hehe~ that would be entertaining, but unfortunate."

Claude didn't find this terribly amusing at all. "Well...probably better than my idea," he muttered. "If my powers are required...should we focus on getting them back first of all? If you can get them back, I...could pledge my allegiance to you as your servant…assistant...whatever you want. And provided you help Sebastian."

The reaper waved his hand, "I've no need for a servant. Only laughter." He looked up at Claude, "Sebastian has given me what I asked. My services are now yours. I shall help until the end. But I need time to gather things to help you with your little sealed powers problem. Which I shall do tomorrow. After that, you can come in at any convenient time for you and we shall start. Until then, you may borrow my book and get caught up on everything I already know." He closed the book and held it out to Claude.

Claude shook his head, his anger flaring up again. "No...not for laughter. That's _too easy_ ," he whispered. "Let me offer something."

"Claude…" Sebastian reached out to touch his lover's elbow, "It's all he ever asks for."

"Indeed." Undertaker nodded, "I'm old, my dear, I have lived so long that nothing else short of love is of value. You came to me wanting help in finding a cure for your lover. At least I think it is safe to assume that of you two. And in giving you such information, I need the power I can sense within you. I'm not unlocking it for the sake of you being a powerful demon again. I'm doing it so that I may use it through you in the days to come, mixing it with my own reaper powers. Now, if you were to demand I also unlock Sebastian's powers, I would be asking for more payment as it is not in any way connected with finding his cure."

"Laughter," Claude echoed, shaking his head. He couldn't understand it at all. "Well...with my own powers, doing it for Sebastian should be a task manageable by myself. But...if you need for anything...call on me. I am in your debt."

"In your mind, not in mine." He grinned, "But very well. Should I need a favor, I shall look too you, my dear. Now, are you going to take the book or not?" he waved the book under Claude's nose.

Claude irritably tugged it into his hand, tucking it under his arm. "Appreciated, mortician. We will progress with the plan as you said. Love, it would appear, is certainly of value, and it is due to that that I am willing to go so far for Sebastian, and for the son we bore. I hope you understand. "

"Oh! A child! How lovely!" The man grinned, "Truly a gift you two have been given by your love! Be sure to take good care of the little thing. I would like to meet him if you are willing. I do love children." He giggled and stood up, "And do release young Knox soon."

Claude paced a little. "Release Knox? Oh, but all we have is your word. Perhaps if some action was taken, I might be more inclined to release him. But since you set the date for tomorrow...he will have to wait at least that long. What do you say about this, Sebastian."

"I simply ask that you keep him no longer than you need to. If Spears sent you to me, then the man will, no doubt be hounding me about you having his little subordinate." Undertaker cut in, "And I remind you I have given you the only copy of the information that took me centuries to collect and deduce. Please don't loose it. We will need it once we start on finding a cure."

Sebastian sighed, "We will contact Spears tomorrow at the earliest to give him back Knox if we are satisfied with the information in this book. If not, then he'll wait until after you have unlocked Claude's powers."

"Whatever," Claude responded promptly, heading for the door and muttering to himself. "I will not 'lose' your dusty old book, honestly…"

"You could use a good laugh or two." Undertaker said, seeing them to the door, "I shall see you soon, then."

"Thank you for helping us." Sebastian said with a nod of his head as they slipped out of the shop and the door creaked closed behind them.

Claude gave an indignant huff and strode away. He was itching for his powers back, he was so tired of _waiting_ for something to happen.

Sensing his lover's mood, he touched his shoulder, "We don't have to wait long…and then having to wait is almost over. You'll be on your way to find the cure." He gave him a small smile, "You'll be able to help find it. You don't have to sit back and wait while he does it on his own."

Claude nodded, looking at the hand on his shoulder. "I'm so frustrated...that I couldn't...find this on my own...the damn reaper had been there the whole time, and..."

"Claude…you didn't know…we didn't know…" he pulled the spider demon into a hug, "But we know now…and you have all the information possible in your hands…And it's not too late. I'm still not having attacks. You have time. You can do this."

Claude paused in his step when Sebastian put his arms around him, and he looked down. "All this time though, and..." His voice cracked a little, betraying his upset mindset. "Goddamnit, I'm so angry. I should be so glad, right now, b-but...I'm furious with myself..."

"You were busy." He shook his head, "Making me potions every time I needed it…being treated for , getting Elijah and I souls when I could barely move during pregnancy, taking care of him when all I could manage was sleep after giving birth to him… Love, you can't blame yourself. You have done everything and anything possible. You have been a great father and a wonderful lover. And now you stand about to regain your powers as a demonic mage, finding the cure for an incurable illness all to keep our family together…" he pulled the demon into a kiss, even as a few sporadic drops of rain landed on his cheek and shoulders, "Please don't be too angry at yourself."

"Dear Malphas, you are...so very good with words," he said softly, finding his anger a little appeased. "You are my...consoling spirit..." He continued the kiss, even as the rain grew a little harder. "I will try and not be so hard on myself...no guarantees, though…"

"That's all I ask…" he planted a few more kisses, "And if it grows to be too much; you know where to find me. I'll see if Faelan can baby-sit again…maybe take Elijah to town for an hour or two while we let out some of that anger."

Claude sighed deeply, taking his hand and continuing up to the mansion. "We should get a castle of our own," he murmured. "It'd be lovely..."

The rain came down harder and Sebastian opened the umbrella, holding it over their heads to keep them dry, "A castle? Why such a large upgrade from the old Trancy estate?"

"You have one in hell, ne c'est pas? A prince as lovely as you deserves an estate befitting his status, I would think," replied Claude, exhaling slowly. He'd never walked under an umbrella before, not in the rain with Sebastian…

"...I do…but I have hardly spent time there…" he blushed. It was the first time since their banishment that he had been referred to by his blood-right status. He, himself, had assumed he wouldn't be called a prince again, and it had become unexpected. But, he supposed, Claude had a point. Just because they were banished didn't make him any less of a prince…or Claude any less of a mage. They just couldn't return to Hell, which was fine by him. "But we should have a home befitting not only a prince, but also a mage of incredible skill, and our son…"

Sebastian paused in thought; "Love…after your powers are unlocked…do you think you would be able to unlock Elijah's? I think he should be able to grow to his full potential."

"Of course I can," Claude replied. "I had originally planned perhaps...to use our blood bond to our benefit...combine what remains of our powers in an attempt to break the lock over me...and then I could help the rest of you out...but I wondered if even combined, would we have enough...?"

"It's hard to say…" Sebastian sighed, "It took far too long for me to summon Faelan today, and something like breaking a seal…that requires a lot more. I think Undertaker's offer would be a better bet…" he sighed, "I hate feeling so damned _weak_."

"You're right...and the risk would have been much greater if we failed..." They had been walking for a while, and were drawing close to the mansion. Claude felt something off. The auras were not as they usually were. The mansion had a vibe he didn't like.

Sebastian opened his mouth to reply, but froze, his ruby eyes snapping up towards the manor. He felt it too, a darker vibe had settled over the estate they called home. He gripped the handle of the umbrella tighter, "…Claude…" he glanced at his lover, and the look on his face told him all he needed to know; they both felt it. An unpleasant shiver ran along his spine and he dropped the umbrella, Running up towards the hose as fast as he could, " _Avnas_!"

Claude was a split second behind him, then he overtook him. Elijah was distressing. Sometimes he could feel it, but his own emotions had clouded that sense…until now, when his mind was clearer and he was in closer proximity to his child.

The tang of blood grew stronger.

Running through the maze of a house would be too time consuming, so as they approached the house, Sebastian set to focusing on his son's life force, determining he was still in the study along the west wing of the house. He veered to the west, leaping up into a tree and approaching the window to the study. The windows were locked tight, due to the time of year, but the crow simply threw himself through it. Shards of glass cutting into him and raining down to the floor around him as he looked up with a growl, his red eyes landing on the triplets.

Claude followed the same route, his golden eyes surveying the scene. There was a white figure in the corner, dyed red in blood, and there were the triplets, one of them he thought was Timber, had Elijah by the throat.

Claude truly lamented the loss of his powers then as he cried out in vicious rage. These three...traitors to their master. They would be torn to shreds.

Barring his fangs, Sebastian straightened up, "Unhand our son this _instant_." He demanded, his voice taking on a tone of authority that he only had ever used while dealing with official business in Hell before he was banished.

Elijah was trying hard not to cry, but tears still glittered on his red cheeks as his air supply was restricted. He twisted, trying to break free, "D-Daddies…"

Claude couldn't summon more fearsome creatures against the triplets, or use magic to his advantage at all. He would have to use his own brute strength to rip them limb from limb.

Faelan gave a weak groan, twitching in his pool of blood. He bordered on unconsciousness...and how he wished it would come.

Canterbury gave a sinister smirk, stepping out in front of his brothers, "You are not, nor were you ever our master. And your status means nothing now." He hissed at Sebastian.

"We are done taking orders." Agreed Thompson, cracking his knuckles, "And you two can't even use your powers. You're nothing."

Elijah's struggling had grown weaker. Claude could spare no time for chitchat. "You three...you traitors," he growled, and in seconds he'd swiped a letter opener from a desk and swiped at one of their throats barbarically.

"Our loyalties were to Miss Hannah. Never to you." Thompson said, ducking the attack at inhuman speed, the letter opener embedding itself deep into the wall behind him.

"We've put up with you two long enough. We're ready to move on and up our status." Timber added, squeezing Elijah's throat harder until the boy passed out. He then tossed him over his shoulder, "Though we should thank you for our ticket up the ranks."

Sebastian dashed over to the fireplace, grabbing two iron pokers and tossing one over to Claude before charging at the nearest triplet, which he was pretty sure was Thompson, swinging it at his head with an angry cry of frustration.

A faint crackle of electricity flowed through Claude's aura, and thousands of tiny, poisonous spiders were slowly but surely advancing on the triplets. The one that had Elijah was most vital, and Claude was still the fastest. " _This is intolerable_! " he growled, his pupils contracted to almost nothing, his irises growing a bright fuschsia. They should have run while they had the chance.

Sebastian missed his limber target a few times, but finally, his efforts were rewarded with the sound of a sickening crack as the poker he wielded made contact with Thompson's head. The young demon's body was lifted by the force and slammed against the wall before crumpling to the floor, twitching.

The other two triplets froze, their glowing gazes sliding over to their fallen brother.

A momentary pause was all Claude needed, and he skewered the one holding Elijah, straight through the head. A black wave of spiders flooded into the room, locked onto Canterbury.

Sebastian leapt over Thompson's body when Claude impaled Timber, reaching out and pulling Elijah into his arms before the demon started to fall to the ground. He gripped his weapon, about to swing it at Canterbury, only to stop when he saw the demon swarmed with spiders of all sizes.

The remaining triplet panicked, trying to get the spiders off himself. Of course, his brothers weren't dead, but they needed the time to regenerate.

That was one set of powers not beyond Claude's ability—his bloodline trait. When the triplets were downed, he gathered them together and began to wrap them up in his webbing. Claude was glad he'd caught these enemies. It had been so long since he could truly torture something.

Sebastian carried Elijah over to the sofa across the room, laying him down gently and checking his vitals. With a sigh of relief, he found the boy was fine, and had just been forced into a normal deep sleep, not enchanted or drugged. He had only been deprived of air. Satisfied that his son would live, he quickly turned to Faelan, stooping down to the Albino, "Faelan…are you okay?" he asked, scooping him up into his arms to move him to a better, more comfortable location while they assessed his injuries.

This was not an easy task, as Faelan practically shrieked as he was picked up and moved. His chest was heavily lacerated and there was severe internal bleeding, and his left arm was in tatters below the elbow.

Sebastian flinched and as quickly and carefully as he could, he lay the demon down on the larger sofa. He felt an ach in his chest seeing how much pain his loyal friend was in. "I'm so, so sorry…" he said before getting up to gather bandages, fresh water, and other medical supplies, Though he knew that it wouldn't be enough.

Though Claude could not heal Faelan, he could treat his injuries far better than Sebastian could. When he was certain the triplets wouldn't escape their bindings, of the thousands of spiders feasting on them, he returned and got straight to work on helping the poor assistant. "Is Elijah okay?" he asked as he set to anaesthetizing the albino.

"He's fine. He has a few bruises, mostly around his neck…but he is fine. They didn't damage him much. He should wake up on his own just fine from what I could tell." The crow said, kneeling next to his lover and acting as his assistant, handing him what he needed, "It seems they didn't want to shed his blood at all. Not a single scrape that I could find…which makes me wonder about their intentions…"

Faelan finally passed out due to the anesthetic, and Claude glanced up at his partner. His eyes had not changed back to gold yet, he was still highly on edge. "I think I can imagine what they'd do with that precious blood, Sebastian. What it could do for slaves like them. Their caste, their status..."

He nodded, "He has my royal blood in him…Even if he is classified by Hell as an 'abomination', his blood is still pure and it can be used just as well as mine could for full value. Power boosts, potion ingredients, boosted healing, allowance of more time between that undying hunger… Royal blood holds endless properties not found in normal demonic blood, It has a high price. Especially when the few of us that have it refuse to give it out, usually…" he glanced away, his cheeks flushing slightly, "To any normal demon, royal blood is the most valuable thing in all of Hell and the mortal realm. Anyone…even a slave-status demon or three…who had a reliable, renewable source of that blood…could make it all the way up to the council members directly below royalty…and no one would stop them because Elijah was born of two males…"

Sebastian grit his teeth, "Denied his birth-right, but when it comes to his blood he's just as royal…"

Claude nodded grimly. This very thought had been formulating in his mind for a few days, when the possibility that the triplets may be mutineers. Their sick interest in Elijah had left him pondering, and as a medical demon he knew all too well the value of the 'blue' blood. The truth was, half the pleasure he got from drinking Sebastian's blood was knowing the pure worth of such a substance.

"Well...they haven't received a drop of it yet, and when I'm done with them..." He bit his lip, rows of needle-like teeth yet to retract.

"When we are both done with them." Sebastian added with a low growl, "They disgust me." he shook his head, "How bad off is Faelan?"

Claude looked over the blood-soaked albino unhappily. "He'll live, of course, and with time he'll heal up. But some things I can do nothing for, and..." He glanced up. "I fear I will have to amputate his arm, or he will be in agony for months and months."

"So no real harm?" he sighed in relief. Even with an amputation, his arm would regenerate eventually, depending on how strong his body's healing ability was, it could take anywhere between a few days, or a few years.

"Nothing he can't recover from. And as soon as I get my powers back, I'll heal him to the best of my ability. ..It is...truly regrettable that he had to endure this..."

"He's been a good friend, and a loyal one. We owe him at least this much for protecting Elijah….I think he should be allowed to stay here while he heals."

"I would certainly allow it," Claude replied, digging out a bone saw from his kit, as well as some other tools he would need. "He kept Elijah safe long enough for us to save him. Despite our misgivings, that..."

Sebastian stayed silent as Claude prepared to amputate the young demon's destroyed arm, "Would you like my assistance, or should I go about prepping a room for him, and getting Elijah into bed?"

"Do that," said Claude, "I'll stitch the rest of him up in the meantime. A spare pair of hands would not go amiss here."

Nodding, Sebastian got up, first moving Elijah into his bedroom and dressing him in his night gown, gently tucking him in and finding his toy duck for him before kissing his forehead. He then moved to a vacant bedroom just down the hall and quickly went about prepping it for use. Finished, he returned to the study and walked over to Claude, "Everything's ready."

Claude had put a damp cloth over the albino's forehead, pushing his bangs off to the side. He felt sympathetic for the man—the triplets were _vicious_ when they wanted to be. He'd seen how they worked. And the fact that they were cannibalistic would not have boded well for Faelan if they'd had their way with everything.

He'd already clamped off the arm, restricting the blood flow.

Sebastian rolled up his sleeves, "Just tell me what you need me to do." He had never helped with surgery before. His medical knowledge stuck strictly to the things any butler would know. Things that didn't require a doctor. He could bandage wounds, stitch up cuts, administer simple medications, but this was something completely new to him.

Claude had applied the tourniquet carefully to ensure blood loss would be minimal. "Just keep his arm straight while I saw through," he murmured, adjusting his glasses with a bloody hand. His blade could cut through bone; he wouldn't have to break them. It should be relatively clean.

The crow nodded and held the mangled arm in a firm grip to assure it wouldn't move while Claude was working. He also moved a bucket under where he assumed Claude would be cutting, to minimalize the amount of cleanup they would have to do afterwards. Not that it mattered much with the amount of blood already staining the walls and floors. Even the furniture. The triplets had brought the room near shambles in the fight that must have happened before he and Claude had arrived.

The skin, the bones, the major arteries and veins. It was all done quickly and rather impassively on Claude's part, and then the arm was removed. A clean amputation. He could almost be proud of it, if it weren't for the circumstances. The corrupted limb was placed in the bucket and put aside.

As Claude finished stitching up the end of the albino's limb, Sebastian began to clean the area, "…I'm rather impressed with the skill you showed." He said, trying to get his mind away from the gravity of the situation.

"It's very simple," Claude replied. "Though I'm certain you're not looking for instruction on the subject."

He bandaged everything up as best he could, and gently took the demon into his arms, carrying him off to the bedroom. When Faelan was laid to rest, he made a beeline to Elijah's room.

Elijah was starting to wake, giving a few coughs due to the bruising around his neck, making breathing a little unpleasant for him. He gave a whimper and rolled onto his side, clinging to his duck as his father entered the room. Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes, a look of relief dawning on his features when he realized it was Claude and not the triplets. "D-daddy…"

Claude nearly broke into a run to the child's side, but held back. "Avnas," he whispered, reaching out cautiously for the child, quickly forcing back the sharp teeth that would be all too similar to what Elijah saw in his nightmares. He pulled the child up into his arms, holding him tightly.

The boy wrapped his arms tight around his father, as if afraid to be left alone, "Is…is it safe?" his question was muffled into Claude's shoulder, "Is Mister Faelan all right?"

"It's safe now," the spider demon replied quietly. "...And he will be okay." He petted him tenderly, rocking him a little. "I was wrong to leave you unguarded and alone, so defenseless..."

"I'm not defenseless! I stabbed one in the hand with my pen when he grabbed me!" he said proudly, "And…and Mister Faelan fought them off for a good while!" he paused and hugged his father tighter, "And you and father came back…"

"You need us, to protect and train you," Claude whispered. "And I should have seen this coming...I was wrong to assume Faelan was capable against three demons..." He sat down in the rocking chair with the boy, holding him close. While the door was closed, he didn't mind...he was a little more willing to let all the pain well back up and leak down his cheek in the form of a tear.

"I can only blame myself for this...I'm sorry."

The boy blinked up at his father and reached up, rubbing the wet trail on his cheek away, "Don't be sad, Father…They…they are just big meanies…well…they were…"

The demon turned his head away, already feeling awful for showing such weakness in front of his son. "You must...look after those you care about," he told him. "No matter what the consequence. U-understand?"

He nodded, "Then…I'll look after you and Sebastian." He announced, "You're my daddies, and I love you." He leaned up to kiss his cheek, "I want you two to be happy."

Claude held the child close, the small head pressed to his shoulder as the faintest tremors ran through his body, and another tear spilled down his cheek. "I wouldn't trade you for the world, you know," he said, breathing in the raspberry children's shampoo scent.

Sebastian had finished cleaning the study, and put things back together enough to satisfy him before walking to Elijah's room, standing silently in the door as he watched his family, "And I wouldn't trade either of you." He smiled gently and strode into the room, reaching out to run his finger's through Elijah's hair, "I don't know what I would have done if we had lost you today."

Claude looked down as Sebastian entered the room, seeing his emotional weakness. He handed the child to Sebastian, subtly brushing the tears away without a word.

Sebastian ignored his tears. He understood them completely, and understood the demonic pride that didn't like such things as tears being pointed out. He simply hugged Elijah to him, rocking him back and forth like he had when the boy was quite a bit smaller, even humming a small lullaby quietly.

Elijah rested against his father, trying not to give into the temptation of such a babyish thing as sucking his thumb, though he eventually gave in, slipping it into his mouth as he had when he was younger and had been needing comfort. Eventually, he fell asleep.

The crow looked at Claude, "What do you think about taking him with us when we go back to the Undertaker's? I don't like the idea of leaving him alone with Faelan being bedridden."

"I'm not leaving Elijah alone anymore," Claude replied in a quiet voice. "Not until he is older and can defend himself with the full ability of his powers and martial skills. Until then, he comes with us."

"I'm glad we are on agreement in such things, then." Sebastian nodded, "And I think he should focus more in his martial arts lessons rather than extra time in music. I know he enjoys music, but…it won't help him save his life if something like this were to happen again."

"I was just about to get him started on those lessons," Claude replied. "It's just we were a little distracted..." He stood up. "If you'll excuse me, love...I have an appointment with three triplets."

"Don't stay up too late torturing them." Sebastian sighed, "I'll stay with Elijah and take him into our room." He walked over and kissed his lover's cheek, "And don't you dare go easy on them."

"Oh, I shan't," Claude replied darkly, giving him a swift kiss in return then setting about his business. He severed their vocal chords so their screams wouldn't wake the sleeping babe, and oh how he tortured them, mercilessly, their only reprieve being individual, when he moved onto the next triplet.

* * *

To be continued...


	32. Chapter 32

The following day, the demonic family went about their normal daily routine, with the addition of Sebastian or Claude disappearing for a time to torture the triplets when they got the chance after remembering what had happened the evening before. They also took time to check in on Faelan every so often, and read up on the book the Undertaker had given them.

The book seemed to know it's information well, though there were a few medical terms Sebastian had to look up in the library when he came across them.

Elijah also started on learning Martial Arts, which he had grown excited for, and therefore paid close attention to Claude as he was taught. He kept his movements slow, making sure to learn technique correctly.

Eventually, the time in which the Undertaker had said they could return to his shop came around, and Sebastian slipped Elijah into his coat, buttoning it up properly.

"I get to go with you this time?" the boy asked as he brushed some lint off his coat sleeve before his father could get it.

Claude approached his son. At least, at this age, Elijah had stopped scaling the walls, but he still left web around the place. He took the child's hands, removing web that had been stuck on his fingers.

Sebastian nodded and took Elijah's hand, "Yes, We are keeping you close until you can properly defend yourself. Now, I want you to behave. This reaper isn't like young Knox in the cellar. He's very old and strong, and he's agreed to help us. So stay on his good side." He paused, thinking back to how the reaper used to treat Ciel, "He's also a little…mad. Don't be surprise if he acts strangely, or goes into your personal space and starts poking you with his nails. It's just what he does."

Elijah furrowed his brow, "Okay…but I wont like it if he touches me!"

"Just don't hit him," Claude replied. "Be good and just...deal with it," he told the boy, petting his hair then escorting him to the door. "You are going to run with us today, okay?"

Elijah nodded, stepping outside with a wide smile, "I like running, especially really fast!" he bounced up onto his toes eagerly.

"Yes, we know you do." Sebastian chuckled, "Ready? Pay close attention to were we turn. You wouldn't want to get lost."

Elijah wasn't as fast as his fathers were, of course, but they kept him exerting himself even at a slower pace. It only took a minute longer to get into London, and then they sought out the alley with the Undertaker's shop.

Sebastian opened the door, holding it for his son and lover before following them in.

Undertaker was in the main room of the shop, humming a nonsense little tune to himself as he worked at a table near the back of the room. Hearing the bell jingle above the door as the demon family arrived, Undertaker twirled around with a wide grin, "Ah~ Welcome, welcome back, my dears!" he cackled, walking over to greet them. "I was expecting you."

The old reaper's eyes fell down onto Elijah, "Ah, and who is this handsome young lad?" he grinned and stooped down, pinching the boy's cheek, "Quite adorable. Would you like a treat?" he took out the jar from his robes containing his bone-shaped treats.

Elijah held back a scowl and rubbed his cheek before holding out his hand, "I'm Elijah." He eyed the cookies in the jar, and chose not to trust them, "And I wouldn't want to ruin dinner."

"Ah~ What a good boy you are! Ehehe. But what else could I expect of the son of the former Phantomhive butler?" he ruffled Elijah's hair and stood back up, "But I suppose your fathers would like to skip a pleasant little chat, and get on with business?" he looked at Claude.

Claude's expression said enough. " _Yes_...that would be desirable," he said simply, holding Elijah's hand. A few new spiders scuttled onto his hand, and he gave them to the child. "Here...play with these for a while. But do not hurt them."

Elijah pouted, "I don't hurt spiders!"

"You did when you were little." Sebastian sighed, guiding the boy over to a chair near the fireplace where embers glowed dimly. He sat him down, "You threw them."

Undertaker giggled, "Ahhh, baby demon. Adorable~ Tell me, does he take after daddy one, or daddy two?" he asked, pointing to Sebastian and then Claude before moving over to grab a basket of the supplies he had gathered, and set to work setting things up to unlock Claude's powers.

All those poor spiders, Claude thought absentmindedly, standing close by the Undertaker and waiting a little impatiently for him to ready everything. He needed his powers back, they were the very essence of his being. "And it would be me he takes after most," he added. "Has a webbing problem."

"Ah, lovely. What an adventure that would be, cleaning up vacant spider webs where normally dirty finger marks would be left!" The mortician cackled.

With scented and unscented candles lit, the door locked, and a custom sigil drawn out on the stone floor with chalk, Undertaker took Claude by the shoulders and guided him into the center of the sigil. "Stay." He grinned, patting the spider demon on the head like he would a dog, he then backed up and took a knife, gesturing Sebastian over, "We need a bit of demon blood that isn't his. Just a few healthy drops in this bowl."

Sebastian nodded, using the dagger to slice open his palm and squeezing a few drops of blood into the wooden bowl until he was told it was enough.

"Now, if you please, your spider needs to be bleeding in both ankles and wrists. Think of it like a crucifixion without the dying on a cross part." Undertaker gestured for Sebastian to assist his lover, "Oh! And you might want to remove as much clothes as you feel comfortable with, Mister Faustus. It'll work faster the more skin you show."

Claude sighed heavily. Nothing he hadn't done before. He pulled off his shirt, at least, seeing the faint scars trailing the length of his limbs. But he wouldn't remove his lower garments, though it did cross his mind for a brief moment what it would be like to bed this man. He wondered what lay beneath the robes, too...stories. The man was probably over a millennium old.

Claude would have liked to read his story, like he was opening his own 'book' to be read by others.

He placed his shirt aside, standing in the middle of the sigil. "I'm ready."

Sebastian looked over his shoulder at the reaper, "Just cut him, or do we need to catch his blood as well?"

"Just cut. His blood needs to drip onto the sigil." The man responded simply, opening a bottle of an unknown substance that smelled similar to roses and dribbling it around the outer ring of the sigil.

The crow nodded and carefully slit open his lover's wrists and then his ankles right above his foot. Before backing up out of range of the sigil.

"Good, good." the retired reaper chuckled, capping the bottle again and setting it aside, watching with morbid fascination as Claude's blood pooled around him and began to run along the floor, following the lines of the sigil until the white chalk was glistening blood in the candle light.

Claude groaned a little as Sebastian cut his wrists and ankles a little, feeling his blood begin to flow. He wondered, if it had been Sebastian in this situation, would Claude have been able to keep a straight face as he spilled that precious elixir that was Sebastian's royal blood? Probably not. He'd probably be greedy and want to drink it all for himself, and what strength it would take to resist the urge. As he thought this, his blood had dripped down onto the sigil. He stared at it curiously.

"Now we can begin." Undertaker said, taking out three silver keys and placing them in the blood on the floor at the corners of the sigil, "Try to stay still. This will undoubtedly hurt." He sat down, crossing his legs and holding a black candle, his rough voice a low pitch as he began to chant; "Tenebrosi Mater. Tenebrosi Mater. Vos ambulabant mecum. Ita quod nulla alia. Tenebrosi Mater…"

The reaper's eyes were closed, and a powerful aura seemed to fill the space around him. His movements were slow as he ran his fingers through the flame of the candle, catching it and holding it in his fingers, lowering it to the blood on the floor, "Combustio pessuli. Disperdite sigillum. Liberati, vitiatas inficit potentias abscóndi."

The flame leapt from his fingers, catching Claude's blood and spreading flames around the shape of the sigil and along the trail of blood to Claude himself, catching his body.

Claude gasped a little as the flames caught onto his body. He'd barely been paying attention to the Latin, more focused on feeling the aura in the room, and then the flame that ran along the trail of his blood. "A-ah—"

Across the room, Elijah watched in silent horror as his father was engulfed in flames, bringing light to the normally dim shop. He wanted to stop it, to run to his father. But, he had been told to stay in the chair. And Sebastian, though he watched on in shock, wasn't moving. So Claude couldn't be in danger…right?

Undertaker set the black candle in the flames, though it's wax did not start to melt when he did so, and he stood up, continuing his chanting as he walked over to grab the wooden bowl that held Sebastian's blood, waiting patiently as the flames moved off the floor compleately and onto Claude, the sigil gone.

The flames danced over his skin for a while, leaving behind no marks of a burn, but burning his skin, none-the less. The cuts on his wrists and ankles drawing the flames into his body and healing over.

The fire's heat gathered in Claude's chest, burning away inside him, and giving his skin in the area a red glow.

And then, almost too quickly to know when it happened, Claude's demonic aura burst forth, filling the air as his powers were unlocked.

Undertaker then moved quickly, stepping forward and holding the bowl to Claude's lips, tipping the blood into his mouth, and drawing the flames, now black, rather than orange, back out, catching it in the bowl as the ritual was finished.

Claude's essence felt like it was being pulled in a thousand different directions all at once, and he cried out loudly, certain he could see the ectoplasmic form of his body burst out in white for a brief second, and he felt like he was flying. Perhaps he'd left his body for a moment. But it came back, and the flames were taken from him, and the glowing inside his body died quickly.

He swallowed Sebastian's delicious blood and sunk to the floor limply.

Sebastian was quickly at his side, holding him up so that he didn't collapse completely. Soothingly running his fingers through Claude's hair, he pushed the dark locks out of his face, "Claude…Are you alright?"

"Oh, he's alright, just needs a few days rest while he gets used to having his powers unlocked again." Undertaker said, waving his hand in the air.

Claude's body spasmed a little as magic coursed through him once more, free and unrestrained. Little crackles of electricity zapped from place to place over his torso, and he moaned weakly as he was filled with power. "Mmmm..."

Sebastian sighed and held Claude closer. Elijah hopped off his chair and ran over, joining his fathers and hugging Claude.

"You may want to get him in bed soon." Undertaker said, smiling at the demonic family, "You make such an adorable family."

Claude seemed to have passed out right after that, still twitching spasmodically in Sebastian's arms.

Elijah walked nervously over to the eccentric mortician, shyly holding out the spiders he'd been given. "Th-these are yours. Th-thankyou for making my daddy better."

"Ah," he reached out for the spiders, "Are they mine? Or are they simply unexpected roommates?" he giggled, letting the spiders crawl up his arm before stooping down, "And you are very welcome, young man."

Elijah blushed a little as he'd handed the Undertaker the few spiders but accidentally left some webbing on his robe. "U-um, thankyou," he mumbled. He didn't speak to outsiders often—his social skills were rather poor at this point. Then he stalked over to Sebastian and Claude's side, red in the face.

Sebastian heaved Claude up into his arms after putting his clothes back onto him, "Elijah, we are going home. Stay close."

"I shall expect another visit when he is back to his normal self." Undertaker smiled, opening the door for them.

Elijah waved shyly and scuttled out after his father. "Is Claude dead?" he asked once they left the shop, clutching a lock of the man's violet hair. "Daddy?"

"Asleep." Sebastian said, looking down at his son, "Why would you think that he's dead?"

Elijah shrugged nervously, still holding his hair. "Because th-that man was a reaper, and reapers want demons to die. A-and r-remember the nightmare I had last night? I dreamt th-that Claude burned to death..."

With his hands full, carrying his lover, Sebastian could only look at Elijah, "He is a reaper, but he's not a working reaper. He does what he wants, not what is expected of him. And here," he stooped down, "Lay your head on his chest. His heart still beats."

Elijah hurried to do so, just incase Claude had died without them noticing. "I feel it," he said in relief. "I-I was a good boy and didn't in-interfere, even though I was scared..."

"Yes, you were very good. I'm very proud of you." Sebastian leaned forward and kissed the boy's forehead before standing again, "Ready to run back home? You can help make sure Claude is comfortable while he sleeps. Maybe we can make him a treat for when he wakes up?" he suggested, knowing the boy loved sharing sweets with Claude.

Elijah gave him a happy smile and nodded. "Yes, father," he said brightly, running a little ways ahead, then when Sebastian started running, sped off, racing him back to the manor.

Of course, even carrying Claude, Sebastian could match and surpass Elijah's speed, but he held back, letting the boy win the race he unofficially started. Smiling, he pushed open the door and made his way back up to the master bedroom, laying the demon on the bed.

Elijah was breathing hard when he got back home, and whined a little at some blisters on the heels of the new shoes he'd had to buy, having just grown out of his old ones. He pulled them off, as well as his jacket and vest, and sat on the bed beside Claude to look at them.

Sebastian stripped Claude of his shoes, setting them aside and changing him into his pajamas before tucking him in and glancing at Elijah, reaching over to ruffle his hair, "You are getting pretty fast at running." He praised, "But you seem out of breath, would you like some water?"

Elijah nodded, and blushed, though it was unnoticed as his cheeks were already flushed with exertion. He wanted so badly to become as strong as his two daddies. He sat beside Claude, holding one of his fingers. It was so tempting to nibble on.

The crow stood up, leaving the room and returning shortly with a glass of water for the boy, holding it out for him, "We are proud of you, you know. We push you hard, but you are learning faster than most young demons do."

Elijah drank deeply from the glass, looking up at his father with bright orange eyes. "It's not enough," he said softly. "I made daddy cry because I got put in danger." He shook his head, holding Claude's hand tightly. "I need to be strong."

"You didn't make him cry…" Sebastian sat down and pulled him into his embrace, "We were…scared that we would loose you. You are everything to us, Elijah, and we hate the very idea of you not being safe or protected."

"Still my fault," the small boy mumbled as his father drew him in for an embrace. "Don't wanna make either of my daddies cry ever again..."

"It is not your fault." He muttered, rocking Elijah, "It was our fault. We put too much trust in the triplets by letting them stay."

Elijah snuggled up to him endearingly. "L-let's go make him something yummy," he requested, wanting something to do while his father rested that wouldn't involve chewing on his hands.

"All right. What treat should we make? Your choice." He said, standing up and lifting Elijah onto his hip, "Cake, pie, cookies?"

Elijah wiggled. "Can we make a fondant?" he asked, his eyes wide with excitement. "I was reading a cooking book and they look so yummy!" He clung to Sebastian's body as they went down to the kitchen together.

"Whatever you want." Sebastian nodded and set the boy on the counter, "Are you wanting to use that particular recipe, or bake how we normally do?" he went about the kitchen, pulling out supplies.

"Mm~ I know Daddy's recipes are best," the boy murmured, looking up at him with a smile. "The very best."

"Thank you." He chuckled, "I went through a lot of pain and blows to my pride to learn cooking and baking properly." He said, thinking back to how Ciel used to treat him when something had tasted bad. "It took a while as I have no taste for sweets myself." He chuckled and put a finger to his lips, "But don't tell Claude I wasn't always perfect in the kitchen."

Elijah giggled. "Well…he wasn't always perfect either, was he?" Elijah was very keen to learn how to cook these, and he listened very intently to everything Sebastian had to say as they made the food.

"Maybe not…but there was a time when we were rivals. And every so often our old tendencies return where we compare our skills…even if it's silently. And he's quite impressed with my cooking." He leaned in close, "And I like that he likes it."

Elijah grinned. "That sounds like the both of you," he said brightly. As they cooked, he pondered what the two of them were like before he was born. Licking some icing sugar off of the cooling puddings once they were finished, he looked up at the man. "So…you didn't like each other?"

"Not at all." He chuckled, "I could stand him for a while, though he did annoy me. But then he tried to steal my young master from me and I truly began to loath him." he finished the dishes and dried his hands, "And I killed him. Or, I thought I had. He managed to survive and bring himself back after I left and took my master home." He explained. He didn't see why he should keep their past a secret. It was the past and they had moved on and developed deeper feelings for each other.

The smile on Elijah's face faded quickly, and he stared in shock, holding his duck toy to his chest. "K-killed him?" he whispered. Was that, perhaps...the reason for those weird scars?

Sebastian nodded, "Those are left from him saving himself." He sat down and crossed his legs, "I do regret it more than you can know. And when I received orders from my last master to kill him again, and properly. I willingly took the punishment by refusing to do so."

Elijah nodded quietly, hopping off the counter, smiling up the man. "'scuse me, daddy," he said politely, leaving the room, the smile dropping once he escaped the room. Poor Claude! He thought, teary-eyed. The thought of him dying—it had been on his mind a lot lately. He hurried to where his father was resting and curled up on his chest.

Sebastian sighed, frowning, wondering if the boy hadn't been ready for the truth to his questions. But he had been raised always being told the bitter truth on things, he honestly hadn't thought that Elijah would have a problem learning the truth about the past.

Standing up, he walked up to Faelan's room to check on the albino, wondering if he was awake yet.

Faelan had not had a pleasant awakening. His chest was tight and sore, and worst of all, he was one limb short. That had horrified him, especially since he didn't know how it had been removed...would it grow back or not?

He was sitting in the corner of his bed, staring up at Sebastian with wide eyes when he entered.

Sebastian offered a small smile, closing the door behind him, "It's good to see you awake." His eyes fell to the albino's arm, or lack-there-of. He gestured to it, "Claude had to remove it. It'll grow back."

Faelan was breathing quickly. "...Do you promise?" he whispered, staring at his stump with teary eyes. How horrified and panicky he'd been when he'd first awoken.

"Yes." He nodded, walking over and pulling over a chair, "He used a surgical saw, not a scythe. You would have been in more pain if he had left your arm as it was." He took Faelan's hand in his own, "We'll take care of you."

Tears spilled over the albino's white lashes, and he turned his pale face away. "The...child's okay though?" he whispered. He could feel the boy's aura distantly...it was not very happy though...

"Yes, he's fine, thanks to you. We owe you so much for fighting the triplets until we returned to take over. He has a few bruises is all."

Faelan gave a tiny nod. "Thank goodness," he said softly. "I feel them still, in this house. I cannot stay here now," he whispered. "Not…while they are here. I-I'm sorry."

"Please. Stay. They cannot harm you. We kept them here only to punish. They cannot even move. "

"Please?" Faelan asked, the servant in him cropping up again. "Th-those malevolent, _vicious_ auras...I can't...please let me go..."

"Where will you go? He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Home," Faelan replied, getting to his feet and nursing his amputated arm. "To heal up. I won't come back while they stay here," he whispered. "Please dispose of them. They are faulty."

"If that is what you think is best." He nodded, "Then, you may leave. We only offer you a place to heal, we won't force you."

Sebastian paused, looking out the window, "Faelan…Has Elijah told you anything he may not want to tell Claude or I?"

Faelan shivered, then glanced up at him. "...He does confide in me sometimes," he mumbled. "What sort of thing are you looking to hear?"

The demon sighed, "I think…I made him fear me." he admitted, "He asked about how Claude and I didn't like each other when we first met…and I told him the truth about the past before we started having feelings for each other. It's how I was raised, so I thought nothing of it, but…even though he still smiles at me, I can feel that something's troubling him…" he leaned forward, resting his head in his hands, "…I feel I made a mistake I'll always regret…"

"You are demons," Faelan replied. "As loving as you can be, everybody has a dark side, and a dark past. I think it is important that he knows...but perhaps he is too young to understand right now," he said softly, in an embraced tone.

"…I see…" he frowned and looked back up ay Faelan, "So I did make a mistake just now."

Faelan shrugged, looking down. "I am not criticizing your choices, of course...But you'd do better to talk to him about it, not me...This happened just now, so how could he have spoken with me about it?"

"I just thought…if he had some unspoken fear that I may have triggered without knowing…I know he hates that we know he fears the dark, it makes sense he wouldn't tell us of his other fears if he has any, but he might tell you. You are the closest thing he has as a friend, after all."

Faelan hummed a little. "Is that the case?" he murmured. "Well, I know he has a strong desire to be dignified and flawless like his parents. He is very upset when things go wrong that he can't help. But sometimes he doesn't tell me either, in fear I will tell you."

"I see…Then I'll just have to try talking to him without knowing if he simply can't understand yet, or if I truly hurt him in some way without meaning to." Sebastian stood up, "Do you need anything? Or do you plan to leave right away?" he asked.

Faelan looked to the ground again. "I'm leaving, Malphas," he said softly. "If all goes well...I hope to see you soon." He bowed deeply and strode out the door.

The crow nodded, "Be careful." he said, seeing him to the door, "And don't push yourself too hard while you are healing."

The demon then walked back to the master bedroom, opening the door to find Elijah curled up on Claude's chest, "Elijah, I'd like to speak with you."

Elijah startled when Sebastian silently entered the master bedroom. Claude was still unconscious, and Elijah had given in and started sucking at the man's thumb, knawing lightly. He quickly tried to hide this behaviour when he heard his voice. "W-what?"

"…You shouldn't try to eat your father's fingers off while he's sleeping." Sebastian said, knowingly. The boy had gotten the habit from him, after all. "It would be good to break the habit sooner rather than later. Trust me."

Elijah flustered. "I—I wasn't—!" he said instantly, getting off of the man and sitting with his back to the wall.

"Don't lie. I'm not mad at you." He sighed, "But I do need to talk to you."

Elijah pulled the duck against him, looking nervously at his father. "U-um, what…what is it, father?" he asked stiffly.

"Come here. We don't want to disturb Claude's sleep. He needs it." He beckoned the boy, leading the way to a nearby sitting room.

Elijah followed curiously, certain that this couldn't be good. He sat down on his favorite couch , gaze averted submissively. "What's...this about?"

"Our discussion earlier...You asked me questions and I answered truthfully without thinking. I know I upset you, and for that I am sorry." he sat down across from his son, "But we are demons, Elijah, and demons have a dark side and a dark past. Love is something rarely seen by demons, let alone felt. Our family is fortunate to have love in it…but it wasn't always that way for Claude and I. we have both done things that we wish we hadn't before we started falling in love…" he looked down at his hands sadly, "I don't know what it is that has you so upset with me…that would make you fear me…but I'm not the same demon I was back then…"

Elijah looked down too. "I-I'm not afraid of you," he said softly. Except when Sebastian was angry at him. "J-just confusing...that two people who love each other could once have wanted to kill each other," he mumbled. "What if you got really angry at him and killed him without thinking?"

"Elijah…" Sebastian moved over, reaching out to tenderly pull the boy against him, "I couldn't kill him now even if I was so angry I couldn't think. I tried to kill him back then due to an order, as well as my pride. But love truly changes people. I know you know how William Spears nearly killed me when I was having an attack…and that night Claude found me and saved me in more ways than one. It was the first time we had seen each other since Claude nearly died…and yet, he continued to help me every time I needed him, though he still saw me as his rival. And slowly, I began to fall in love with him, though I was stubborn and refused to admit it for a time until he tricked me into admitting it. Then it was completely one-sided for a long time…I let him do as he wished with me, despite the fact he held no feelings in return. I don't know how or exactly when he started to return my feelings…but the night he saved me, started us down a path we can never go back on. I'd rather sacrifice my own life than kill him, just as I would do to keep you safe."

Elijah was still young though, so it was confusing for him, but he nodded and snuggled against Sebastian tightly. "O-okay. I am sorry, father...I should have responded better. I know you love Claude very much, and he loves you." He lay down in his lap. "Hey, why don't you get married? Isn't that what people who love each other do?"

Sebastian's face suddenly heated up in a bright blush, "M-married? That…is a human custom…" he said, dismissively before looking down at the boy and frowning, "Do…you wish us to be married?"

Elijah shrugged. "I don't care really. I guess it was a dumb idea...royals do not wed ones not of royal lineage, do they? Even in human customs..."

Sebastian shook his head, "I'll ask Claude if you think it is a good idea." He ran his fingers through Elijah's hair, "When our current relationship was new…I told him not to think of me as a prince, but an equal. And now even Hell itself can not stop us. We are no longer under its jurisdiction. I've already dedicated the rest of my life to him. Marriage really is just a symbolic status of that dedication." Honestly, he had never even thought about marriage at all. But, he was open to the idea if it would make Elijah happy.

Elijah rolled over onto his stomach. "Mnn, well...you're not humans," he murmured. "So I dunno!" He rolled over once more, off the couch and onto his feet. "Can we wake Claude now before the food gets cold?"

"We can take the food in, but I think we should let him awaken in his own time. He's gone through a lot this evening." He stood up and held out his hand to the boy, "We don't want him to be disturbed. His powers could be unstable."

He's been lying there aaaall daaaaay," Elijah moaned. "If he's not dead he should not need to sleep so much!" He took the cold hand of his father and tugged him along to Claude's room. The spider demon, at this point, was half-awake in bed.

"Oh? And how do you know how much sleep he needs?" Sebastian asked, a small amused smile on his lips, "I think you are just anxious about him."

Elijah pouted, climbing over Claude's chest and wrapping his body around the man's muscular arm, like he often did with Sebastian. Claude groaned a little in response and Elijah gasped. "Daddy!"

"...'Father'..." the man responded sleepily after a long pause.

"Claude…" Sebastian sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed a lock of hair out of his face, "I didn't expect you to wake so soon."

Claude reached for Sebastian's hand, wincing a little when he took a hold of it and realized two of his fingers were very sore. He groaned again. "Elijah..."

Sebastian held his hand gently, and Elijah lifted his head, looking at Claude with hopeful eyes, "Yes, father?"

"Would you like some water?" the crow asked.

Claude nodded appreciatively, then looking up at the boy as Sebastian reached over to a pitcher of water he had sitting on the side table, pouring it into a glass for his lover. "What did I...tell you?" the spider muttered, "Don't...chew on my fingers..."

Elijah sank a little, "I'm sorry…"

Claude pushed himself into a sitting position, looking at the deflated boy. He had looked so hopeful...it was probable that he had been worried, so Claude drew him close and ran a hand through his hair. "It's alright...we'll work on it..."

"He slipped his hands around his father, "You are going to be okay? You…won't die?"

Sebastian sighed, "Elijah, I told you he was just sleeping."

Claude smiled. "You like butterflies, don't you? Think of it like...your father goes into his cocoon under the blankets...and when he's done resting, he comes out much improved. That is how I feel right now," he said, sitting up a little straighter. "Like a butterfly."

"You feel better?" Elijah's spirits seemed to lift, "That reaper did fix you…not just hurt you?"

Claude's eyes slid to Sebastian, locking onto the ruby red irises. "He fixed me. I am certain of that. I could even go as far as to say I feel even stronger than ever..."

Elijah smiled and hugged Claude tighter.

Sebastian also smiled, "It's good to hear." He pressed the glass of water into Claude's hand, "We can probably let Spears have Knox back."

Claude sighed, wishing he could have had a scarce minute of joy before having to think about such things. "Oh, very well," he muttered. "You can take care of that then. I shall rest up a little more."

"Of course. But still, it can wait…" he leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I was worried about you too."

"Oh?" Claude questioned. "How worried, dear Sebastian?" he teased, holding the child gently and sipping his water.

"Worried enough." He said simply, "Undertaker hadn't given us much information. Only that you'd need rest afterwards. I had no idea of any strange effects it may have on you…and the ritual was so violent…it was hard to watch."

Claude's smug expression faltered a little. "Ah—there haven't been...strange effects, have there...?" he asked.

Sebastian shook his head, "Not that I have noticed. I guess…I worried that you would be…different when you woke up."

"I do feel different. Like I got my life back," Claude replied, touching Sebastian's cheek and letting a low voltage surge of electricity run through his partner's body. "My everything back."

Sebastian turned his head and kissed his lover's fingers, "That change I am glad for…But I had been thinking it would be something more like after the accident on that ship…"

"On the contrary," said Claude, "without my magic, I thought I was becoming susceptible again. My scar itched and I got awful twinges and mood swings...but I feel...that I have it under control again."

Elijah stared up at his fathers with big, oblivious eyes.

"Then, I'm even more relieved that this went so well." Sebastian nuzzled Claude as he sat down next to him, "I could handle the effects of that condition…but I don't know what I'd do if you were to get it back and turn it onto Elijah." He ran his fingers along Claude's scar hidden under his hair.

Claude looked down. "I would insist you kill me first, Sebastian." Elijah stiffened, and Claude continued in French, " _If_ _I ever lose it with him...immobilize me...or kill me. Whichever is easier. I will not hurt my son, for anything_."

"You know I could never kill you." Sebastian shook his head, "And it won't be a problem. You said you feel better again. Like it won't happen. So why discuss such a grim topic?" he looked at Elijah, "I promise I won't kill him, ever."

Elijah's face crumpled and large tears gathered in his eyes. "No killing!" he cried. "No one is killing anyone!"

"I know, no killing, I promise." Sebastian pulled the boy between them, " _He has a fear that one of us will die_." he whispered in French.

Claude's eyes slid to the boy crying between them. "What _has this come from?"_ he replied.

The crow shook his head, " _I'm not entirely sure, but I discovered it by accident when he asked about how we didn't always get along. I had only just calmed him down right before we came in to check on you again_."

Claude held Elijah tightly. "Sebastian and I are not dying," he replied. "We live forever, remember?"

The boy nodded, "But…but you can be killed…And Sebastian's sick…and…and you can't die! You have to stay, daddy…" he sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Sebastian sighed and pulled out a handkerchief, "Don't use your sleeve."

Claude cringed. "No, we're going to live forever," he told the boy, pulling him into his arms. "What's this nice thing you've made for me, huh? It smells lovely. Shall we have some?" he asked, rocking the child. He shot a look to his partner. "Take care of Knox, yes?"

Sebastian nodded, "Very well. Enjoy the fondant cake, you two." He stood up and handed Claude the cake before grabbing the cell phone from the side table's drawer. Stepping out of the room, he turned it's screen on and found William's contact information, pushing the green call button as he headed down to the basement.

The first sound from the other line was a dramatic sigh. "This is William Spears. Michaelis, is that you?"

"You sound so enthused, Spears. Don't tell me you have changed your mind on wanting Knox back." Sebastian said, heading back down to where Ronald was being kept.

"You're a bigger fool than I thought if you think that's the case. While my superiors think he isn't worth the trouble...my own opinion is the polar opposite."

"Just making sure the poor boy is still wanted." He teased, "As we have no use for him any longer. How soon would you like him back?"

"The moment you put your filthy hands on him," William hissed in response. "If you've got what you wanted, return him _immediately_."

"We meet on neutral grounds. Come alone, understood?" he asked, tilting his head to pin the phone against his ear with his shoulder as he blindfolded Ronald, much to Ronald's protest.

"Hey! Is that really needed? It's dark in here as it is!"

"Don't make me gag you." Sebastian warned, "You're going home."

"Where exactly, pray tell, are these neutral grounds?" William scowled, his voice oozing with loathing, sneering even though his expression couldn't be seen.

"London. Perhaps near the town square? You choose if you'd like." He pulled Ronald up to stand, taking off his shackles and tying his hands behind his back, "He's probably hungry. We haven't had the chance to give him dinner. Perhaps you'd like to be near a restaurant you two enjoy?"

William snarled. "Damn it, Michaelis, stop fooling around. There are more important matters at hand. Fine, the town square. _Do not_ be late, you filthy, conniving, hell-spawn." He hung up after that, swearing rather colorfully under his breath as he got to his feet, seeking out his scythe.

Sebastian sighed, sliding the phone into Ronald's pocket before dispelling the reaper trap, picking the young man up bridal style, and carrying him out. "I've no doubt he'll have his scythe. You'll be a good lad and make sure he doesn't use it, right?"

Ronald frowned, "What makes you think I would?"

"Because you met my son. You wouldn't want to hurt him, would you?"

Ronald fell silent as they traveled, feeling the cold night air on his face. It felt good being in the fresh air after being trapped in a damp room for so long. "…Fine. For him. But that's the only reason. Kids should have both parents."

"Good."

William was tempted to pace, but kept himself stiff and immobile on the top of a statue above the town square. The second he saw Sebastian, he shot his scythe at him, hoping to sever something.

Sebastian stepped to the side, "You risk me using Ronald here as a shield." He said, bringing his foot down onto the extended poll to pin it to the ground, "And then this whole meeting would have been for nothing."

"Will! Don't attack him." Ronald said blindly, not knowing what direction his lover was in.

William leapt down, intercepting Ronald pulling him away, skin white with loathing for the demon. "...How's your 'cure' proceeding?" he hissed.

"Better than you'd expect." He responded, allowing the reaper to be taken from him, "Enjoy having your lover back, Spears. I hope we don't have to cross paths again." He turned to leave.

William snarled, clutching his partner close. "Remember that judgment I first talked about?" he asked. "I hope it will fall on you soon."

The demon paused, looking over his shoulder, "I have already been judged by a power far greater than the judgment you spoke of…" he turned back away, "And I truly believe despite punishment, I walked away with more of a life than I had before. If I die, then I die fulfilled."

William sneered, walking a short distance away and sitting down with Ronald. He pulled his blindfold off quickly. "...Ronald..." He quickly checked him over for injury.

"I'm fine, Will, really." He looked up at William's blurred form, "He slipped my glasses into my pocket, I think…But none of them touched me. They left me alone in a damp, dark room, for the most part."

William patted him down for his glasses, found them and put them on. Wordlessly, he put his arms around him. "You need to be more careful..!"

"I'm sorry…" he leaned in, breathing in his lover's scent, "I hadn't even planned on getting drunk…well, not much! Just a few drinks before heading home…but the other demon, Claude, he slipped a drug in my drink somehow…"

"You should always have your guard up for demons," William muttered, squeezing him gently. "Honestly, Ronald...if it were any other demon, you'd be dead by now…"

"They only wanted to try and keep their family together…" Ronald said, "They wouldn't have kidnapped me otherwise."

William huffed. "You don't know that. I'm certain they weren't always so civil. Anyway...what matters now is that you're back..." He squeezed his hand tightly.

"I promise not to go drinking alone again." Ronald whispered, "Just in case. I'm sorry I had you so worried…"

William shook his head, holding him tighter. "Let's go home and get you all cleaned up...It's going to be alright."

The blond nodded, "A bath would be nice…and a small dinner." He turned his head and kissed William's cheek, "Maybe you can join me." he whispered.

"Anything you'd like," the man replied. He was just grateful that Ronald was safe. Meanwhile, he had numerous search parties and infiltration squads to call off.

* * *

To be continued...


	33. Chapter 33

It didn't take Claude long to regain his full strength and start in on his search with Undertaker to find Sebastian's cure. However, a lot of the research and Undertaker's crazy experiments to find the cure took a lot of the demon's power, and so he found he couldn't unlock Elijah and Sebastian's powers at the same time. Upon discovering this; Sebastian insisted upon Elijah being unlocked first so he could learn and train properly once more as he grew up so quickly.

A little more than a month had passed since the reaper had started helping in the search for the cure, and Undertaker was insistent on saying they had made progress, though how much; Sebastian didn't know. He left it to Claude, focusing his attention on keeping Elijah's studies at a steady pace.

Sebastian sat in the Undertaker's shop with Elijah, a fair distance away from his lover and the shop owner, teaching Elijah a new song on the violin, the nearly perfect tune filling the shop.

The slightly off-key notes barely bothered the spider demon. He wasn't one to count his chickens before they hatched, but he was sure he had what he needed to cure dear Sebastian, had even prepared all the ingredients, apart from one. He'd come across its name in his studies, and was certain it was what he needed, yet he had never heard of it before, or how he could find it. Claude had a vast range of knowledge about herbs, plants, and flora in general, but this was unknown to him. That day, he came, intending to ask the Undertaker, in case he knew. Sebastian wasn't aware of his progress yet—he didn't want to unnecessarily get his hopes up.

"So, I'm certain this is everything I need," Claude told the Undertaker. "I've run tests. Developed a strain of Sebastian's disease, injected it into rodents. They fell ill with it, and most of them seem to completely recover, until one day, they just drop dead." He looked up at the mortician. "I'm missing something. This one plant; Snowburst. Ever heard of it? I think it's the key."

"Snowburst? Ah~ that would make sense. Yes…" The reaper muttered to himself walking over to his book shelf and looking over the title-less spines. "AH! There you are." He pulled a thin, warn book from it's place and blew the dust off it, flipping it open and finding the page he was looking for. "Here it is, my dear. Incredibly rare. It hasn't been seen for centuries, and is thought to have died out. They grew in only one place in the world." He giggled, "Conditions must be perfect for them, after all. They die so easily."

Claude frowned. "...Well, that's okay... a portal is well within capabilities..." He checked back to his own book—it stated, exactly, that it needed the juice from the Snowburst plant's fruit. Said juice had to be mixed with the blood of the affected—easy enough—, and it would cause a chemical reaction to make the ingredient necessary. _But_ it had to be done exactly on the first hour of the winter equinox, under the light of a full moon. Again…not terribly difficult. The equinox was only a month away, "...Where do I find it?"

"I'm afraid you don't, my dear. I said it's thought to be extinct for a reason. Humans found their way to the location they once grew and poisoned the conditions. They won't grow anymore." He said, "However, if we have the time, we could recreate those conditions here in the shop…" he got up again and found an old box, "You see, long ago, I used the very plant for a different reason that shall remain privet. And I still have it's seeds. Luckily the seeds are lasting, unlike the plants."

He pulled out a single seed from the box, holding it up, "It's the only one I have. So we'll only get one chance at it. They can only grow when in contact with the power of heaven, hell, and death. Hell, no problem. You supply that. Death, again, you have me. Heaven, on the other hand…we'll need some angel feathers…"

Claude scowled, his aura prickling. "And where, pray tell, shall I simply grab an angel and pluck its feather?" he asked, glancing over at Sebastian and his son playing together. "It couldn't be simple, could it?" he grumbled.

"Pluck a fluff-ball. It's always a fun little activity. Or you could go murder one of my pillows. Angel feathers make the best stuffing." He cackled, grabbing a empty jar, "We'll use the feathers as dirt."

Claude rubbed his forehead. "Be blunt with me. How will I get an angel's feathers?" The cure was within their fingertips now, he was rife with impatience now.

"I wasn't joking, my dear. Either go out and pluck some off an angel, or go into my privet rooms and cut open one of my pillows."

Claude frowned. He was being serious? "...Good grief." He got to his feet, walking past his partner and son to a room that looked like it could be a bedroom, and tentatively swung the door open.

"Do be careful not to disturb the closed casket in there! You never know if something might bite." Undertaker called out after him as he cleaned the jar to be used as a pot.

Claude shook his head, and entered the dark room to find himself a pillow. "Oh!" he murmured as a large spider scuttled down onto his shoulder. "Good day to you...Over here, you say? Thank you kindly."

"Well, it's about time~ I was abou—You aren't my Unnie!" A flamboyant voice cut through the silence of the back room. Grell sat up on the bed, scowling at the demon. Not knowing where Sebastian had disappeared to, and knowing that William was in a relationship, the redhead had focused his attentions on Undertaker, and had snuck into the back room to wait for the silver reaper. "What are you doing here? You're that rude demon with the spiders, aren't you? Do you realize how long it took me to regenerate from the damages done to me?"

"Oh, lord, how vile," Claude commented impassively, taking a step back, then two forward. "Hand the pillow over and you get to live. You can understand that, now can't you?" He gathered a few spiders about him, just in case.

"Don't be rude! You don't even belong here! This is Unnie's privet rooms." He grabbed a pillow, "Why would you want this anyway?" he asked dangling it in front of the spider's face, "You aren't planning to stay the night, are you? Because I have plans!"

Claude stared down his sharp nose at the loud and uncouth redhead. "He _invited_ me," he teased. "Now give me the damn pillow, or I'll break your neck, and that might just a damper on tonight's plans, now wouldn't it?"

"Why would Unnie invite you?" he asked, standing up and shoving the pillow against the spider's chest. "You aren't anything special."

Claude smirked, taking the pillow and lowering it to his side. "And you are a filthy little slut who cannot win anybody's affections for long. Good day." He strode from the room, closing the door behind him as he left.

"How _dare_ you!" Grell ran after the demon, throwing open the door, "I have you know that I—" he froze, his eyes catching sight of Sebastian. "Ah~ Sebas-chan, my love~ It's been so long! Embrace me~" he flung himself at the crow.

A cold shiver along his back had warned him before he heard the reaper's voice, and Sebastian quickly stepped to the side, allowing the redhead to crash into an empty coffin. "Don't refer to me in such a way, Sutcliff. It's disgusting."

"It has one minute to get out of here before I make powder from its bones," Claude said in a much more irritated tone when Grell had so typically—and embarrassingly—flung himself at _his_ lover.

Elijah perked up.

"Is that a reaper, too, Father?" chirped Elijah. "Can I help kill him?"

"I hardly classify it as one." Sebastian said, "But yes."

"Ah~ You are as cold as ever, Sebby, darling. Come now, the brat is dead. We can finally be together." Grell pouted, pushing himself up and wiggling over to the crow who held out a hand to stop him.

"You are right. I don't have a master right now. Therefore I don't have to stand here and let you hang off me as you dream up impossible scenarios." He turned an angry red glare on Grell, "If you touch me I'll let my son commit his first kill early."

"Son?" Grell pulled back and turned his attention to the boy, "Not fair, Sebby! I offered to carry your child! Where's the bitch who stole you from me and gave birth to your kid?" he demanded, "She just got her name on my list!"

Claude almost had to sit down and ponder how a man could honestly be so blatantly ignorant. Was it stupidity? He stroked Elijah's shoulder, who was boasting a healthy bloodlust aura and a cute little grin to go with it. "Neither of my fathers like this man. So I can kill him, right? Please?"

"The one who gave birth to this child, well...we could deliberate if that person was a bitch or not, but...you are certainly no woman, are you, Sebastian?" Claude asked.

"Despite the small collection of women's clothing you have hanging up in my half of the wardrobe at home, no, I am most certainly not a woman. And you of all people should know that very well, Love." He walked over to his family, slipping his arm around Claude's waist and resting his other hand on Elijah's shoulder, "Give it up, Sutcliff, and please leave. You are interrupting Claude's important business with Undertaker, as well as our son's music lesson."

Grell's gaze snapped between the three demons, "You can't be serious! You go for spider-boy over there? He's horrid! And…" he trailed off, looking at Claude, his eyes narrowing, "Hadn't you said you needed those souls to _save_ your lover? My Sebby-darling was contracted! He was fine! Are you cheating on him?"

"Our personal issues are none of your concern." Sebastian snapped.

Elijah licked his lips a little. Claude shot out a burst of web and caught Grell around the neck.

"I'm tired of his voice."

"Me too," said Elijah, taking a few steps forward. "M-maybe I'll...take out his vocal chords?"

Grell took a step back, "You aren't cute at all, brat! Sebby! Control your little imp!"

"He's not an imp!" Sebastian growled.

Now, now~" The Undertaker giggled, stepping between the redhead and the family of demons, "My dear Miss Sutcliff, I did tell you I would be quite busy with some customers who paid in advance. Why don't you go shopping or get me some lovely bodies to lay to rest, hmm?"

"But, they—"

"I'll be sure to be ready for your visit later, my dear. Until then, kindly find some other way of entertaining yourself, rather than angering this dear family of irritable demons."

Claude slowly released the web's hold on him. "...Very well. If I see you again, I'll take off all that garish hair of yours. Shinigami hair is useful in magic, you know."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "..." His fingers twitched a little at his sides. He wanted to...feast on something.

Grell huffed, brushing some stray web from his clothes, "Sebby, your lover has absolutely no taste what-so-ever. And he's quite boorish. You could do so much better!"

"Not with you, I couldn't." the crow said in a bored voice, "And I quite agree with him."

"There, you see? Isn't getting along much better?" the retired reaper giggled.

"Humph!" Grell turned on his heels and left the shop, slamming the door closed.

Undertaker shook his head, "My, my, that spout of anger even lacked his usual passion…I don't think he'll be going on a killing spree for me after that…" he hummed to himself and took the pillow from Claude, cutting it open to grab the glistening white feathers that lay within it.

Claude went to Sebastian's side almost a little possessively, resting a hand on his lip and licking at his neck. "You'd never consider bedding something like him, would you?" he muttered in a low voice, breathing in his delicious scent.

Elijah sat down in his chair, looking lost, his fingers curling in his lap. He had been so _keen_ to murder something...drink its blood…That bloodlust was still there, visible in an aura he didn't know how to hide yet.

"Of course not. Not even an order from a master could make me bed something like that. Luckily, Sutcliff seems easily distracted by something as simple as a smile or wink, and he's so easily evaded when he gets clingy. Though I do wish Spears hadn't stopped me from killing him after he was discovered to be half of 'Jack the Ripper'." He turned, pressing his lips to Claude's cheek, "With any luck, his knowing that I am yours will keep him away from now on."

"I haven't a doubt~" Undertaker said, stuffing feathers into a jar, "Ever since he caught his dear William bending young Mister Knox over his desk, he hasn't bothered either of them in such ways."

"Good. Then we shouldn't have a problem." Sebastian said, eyeing the feathers, "Are you two using angel feathers in attempting to cure me? It seems to me that would do more harm than good…" He moved around, squeezing Claude's rear as he passed behind him and sat down next to Elijah, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

The image made Claude chuckle a little, and he gave his partner a light slap on the backside in response. "Ah, yes. It will be necessary in the process of curing you, love. Just leave it to me, I'll get it all figured out." Claude turned back to the Undertaker.

Elijah looked up at his father with glowing eyes. "...Daddy, I-I'm hungry," he whispered, still curling his fingers. His fangs had extended a little, too.

Sebastian frowned. Elijah was still too young to be having cravings this strong…but, he had had his powers locked for a time, and then unlocked again. Maybe such things messed with a demon's appetite. There was no denying the type of hunger the boy was having, either. Even with his own powers still locked away, he could feel the hunger and bloodlust. He sighed and kissed the boy's forehead, "Alright. We can continue your lessons later." He glanced up at Claude and Undertaker who were back at work with whatever it was they were doing with a jar of angel feathers. "I'm going to take Elijah out for a bit."

Claude didn't look up. "Okay. Be careful." When it was just him and the mortician, he adjusted his glasses, concentrated. "So, what was it you were saying? I needed to take these feathers...so I could grow the plant?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes!" the reaper giggled, "It's simple enough…" he took the small seed and pushed it down into the feathers, "The feathers will act as the soil, the power I'll inject into it daily will be it's sunlight, and the power you will inject into it will be it's rain. It'll absorb the magic from each of these things and use it to grow. The problem is only that it takes a long time to mature into an adult plant."

Why can't it just grow like a normal plant, Claude wondered irritably. And it would require his power everyday? Say goodbye, getting Sebastian's powers back soon. "That's fine. How long? 4 months?" he asked. 6 at most, hopefully.

"Sadly, no. It takes two years of care to get this little guy mature enough to harvest. And that is with constant feedings of death, heaven, and hell."

"Good grief," Claude uttered for the second time that day. "Two bloody years? _Truly_? There is nothing one could do to speed this up a bit?"

"To let it grow naturally, it'd take nearly five years. We are already speeding it up by making sure it'll get what it needs every day. I'll refresh it's angel feathers as needed." He pressed his fingertips into the feathers, his reaper eyes glowing a gold color under his bangs as he forced his power into the seed directly.

Claude looked disheartened by this, but if it was truly the cure, then...it was worth the time, yes?

"...I understand," he replied defeatedly, reaching out for his turn. "...How much power of mine will it require?"

"You'll know when it's done." He said, withdrawing his hand, "It feels like it suckles the power out of you. When it stops, it's done feeding. It'll take only what it needs at the time. Some days it'll be more, others less."

"Then...the blood bond...It won't siphon Sebastian's power, will it?" Claude asked cautiously, just in case. He put his hand into the pot, touching the seed, and immediately feeling a little pull too. It was definitely draining his power, like a hole in a bag of wine...slowly leaking away. He didn't like the sensation at all.

"His powers are still locked away, am I right? They'd be untouchable by the bond you two made, as well as this little seed. What it takes, it will only take from you." The reaper reassured the demon, "You may want to keep your adorable little boy away from it though. I'm unsure if a child demon could handle a drain, even if accidental."

Claude nodded. After a few minutes, the sensation stopped. He looked down, drawing his hand back when it was done. "...I...have a question," he said quietly. "If this cure works...do you think..." He glanced around to see if anyone was around. "Do you imagine it would work for a shinigami?"

"I don't see why not." The reaper shrugged and grinned, "Why do you think I myself had once been looking into such a subject, and then so eagerly jumped up to help you with your request? When you leave here, I go over our notes and have been seeing if it would work with Thorns as it does with Fames."

"I would have one man notified immediately if that is the case," Claude said quietly. "...His name is Eric Slingby. I...would have some of this cure prepared for the one he knows who needs it. He showed me mercy once...and I owe him to repay the debt."

The reaper nodded, "Very well. Once we have the cure, I shall send word to Mister Slingby. From what I know of him, it'd not be best to contact him sooner…he's an impatient man."

"I anticipated as much," Claude said with a nod. "But keep my words in mind." He stood up. "Is there anything else I should know before beginning this two year wait?"

"I don't believe so." He shook his head, "I'm sure I needn't remind you to keep your crow alive while we wait."

"That's all fine and fucking dandy," Claude replied with a scowl, "unless the disease takes him whilst we wait for the damn plant to grow."

Undertaker sighed and turned to the spider demon, placing his hands on either of his shoulders in a comforting manor, "You have kept him alive this long. You have somehow changed his fate. You know, demon's names do turn up on the to-die list once in a while…though reapers don't care enough to collect those souls. I just happen to know that your dear Sebastian's name turned up on the supernatural to-die list months before you brought in the body of Ciel Phantomhive to me to fit for a coffin. And yet, here he is alive and looking as healthy as ever."

"No reaper is going to touch him, then," Claude whispered, looking at the spidery fingers with the long black nails touching on his shoulder. "I'll be in tomorrow." He turned away from him, gathering his things into a leather pack and exiting the shop. Sebastian was due to die months before, but no one cared to take his soul? He could have gone so easily, perhaps in the night, perhaps during an attack...

Claude walked a little ways along, and then leaned against the wall. He brushed sullenly at brimming eyes. When had that happened?

_Please, God...do not take Sebastian in such a way...please._

* * *

To be continued...


	34. Chapter 34

Sebastian walked along a side-street, Elijah hiding in a nearby alley. His timing was perfect. A single pedestrian was walking the same street, heading towards Sebastian, and they were bound to cross paths right in front of the alley. As soon as the crow demon was out of the man's peripheral vision, he spun on the ball of his foot, wrapping his arm around the man's neck and bringing a crushing force down onto his throat, destroying his vocal cords so he couldn't scream out for help. He then dragged the man into the alley and slammed him down onto the ground, pinning him. "Ready, Elijah?" he asked, his eyes sliding over to where the boy was sitting on a crate.

The boy, who was a shaking mess at this point, his hunger having been suitably aroused, was on the man in seconds. He hadn't had souls for a few months...once he stopped needing them to sustain his life-force. Claude and Sebastian were strictly not soul-takers, but he was so hungry. The innocent boy was always told to do what came naturally, and his urge was to clamp his jaws around the man's throat and rip it out, spraying blood everywhere. The soul came the second the man died, rising up from within him, and sliding down Elijah's throat. THe boy trembled, going still as the beautiful feeling entered him, then he bent down to suck and drink and chew ravenously at his victim.

His father sighed, moving to keep an eye out for any reapers. He couldn't stand a fight against one, so he wanted warning so they could escape. "You should try to be less of a messy eater…" he muttered, glancing at the blood splatter that had soaked into his sleeve. Luckily, he was wearing black, and the blood wouldn't stand out. Elijah, on the other hand, would need to be wiped clean before they left the alley to walk through the more crowded streets. "And you shouldn't—"

"...Sebastian, what the hell are you doing, letting him do something like this?!" Claude demanded, sighting the child covered in blood and flesh. He had followed after the scent of his lover and child, his eyes a little red around the edges from the moment of weakness he'd had by himself. When he saw what Elijah had done, however, he instantly became angry.

"He made a mess before he could be stopped." Sebastian said, looking at his lover, "He's young, hungry, and angry, thanks to that annoying redhead earlier. We'll have to teach him to control that, but right now, I'm letting him get his fill so he won't be hungry again anytime soon." he sighed and looked over at Elijah, "We all have one messy feeding as children."

"Certainly, if one does not have a responsible mentor there to tell us how vile it is to consume the flesh of the living," Claude said irritably, unknowingly venting his anger about having to wait 2 years for the cure, during which time Sebastian could simply drop dead. "Are you comfortable with allowing the child to do such a thing?" he snapped. "I bet you didn't even scold him for it. How is he supposed to know it's wrong?"

Elijah looked horrified, taking his coat off and wiping the blood off his face.

"No, I didn't. I was going to wait until we were home and he was dumped in the tub rather than embarrassing him out here. He's old enough not to need scolding right away. Besides. I'm in a bit of a mood because of Sutcliff, and I'm enjoying the thought that that man could have been Sutcliff had the Undertaker not interrupted.

"Why not just use _Sutcliff_?" Claude snapped, turning on his heel and stalking off in the direction of their house.

Elijah's bloodlust had faded, and seeing his father so angry at both him and Sebastian made him very upset. He turned away, already at the age where he had to try and hide his tears from his parents, just as they did from him and from each other.

"Do you _really_ want our son eating something as disgusting as Sutcliff?" the crow countered. He walked over and scooped Elijah into his arms, clearing away some more blood before starting after Claude, "He made a mistake, and will learn from it. Nothing wrong with that."

"At least then he'd be over and fucking done with," Claude retorted, then zipped off out of Sebastian's range.

Elijah buried his face in his father's shirt, letting his tears be absorbed by the man's clothes. "I-I didn't know it was b-b-bad.."

"I know…Claude and I both didn't think to teach you before-hand…that's why I didn't yell right off…" he pressed a kiss to his temple, "Claude's just…moody about something. He knows it's not your fault. But now you know not to do it again, right?"

Elijah whined, sniffling. "B-but it w-was almost as good a-as the soul…it was so y-yummy...why can't we eat humans?"

"…I know…" he repeated, looking away as he continued to walk. Having resorted to human blood for his attacks before Claude had found him, he knew just how good it could taste, especially when hungry, "But its bad enough we take their souls…"

He trailed off, wondering how to put it in a way the boy would understand. It was always something that Higher demons simply didn't do…he didn't think he ever was told a reason when he was a child himself.

"When we take a soul, we not only kill that person, but also all the people they could have been reborn to be. Their soul dies, not just their body. But humans have loved ones and families too…think of it as…if we leave them a body, they can have closure on the death of their loved one."

There. That reason made sense at least.

Elijah looked up at him. "But why do we care about that?" he asked in a darker voice, hinting at a malevolence growing inside him, tarnishing the pure attitude. "I want to eat them."

Cannibalism, or flesh-eating, in demons, was something that could almost be considered taboo, if a demon cared for such boundaries. It was frowned upon, but that didn't stop whoever cared the least.

"I can understand why I can't eat Claude...he is my father, but the others..."

"No, Avnas." Sebastian said firmly, a little disappointed that a more caring explanation hadn't worked. But then again…he did still have human emotions due to his illness. It was if they had been engraved into him. He…felt bad for the humans who would find a loved one torn apart so badly.

"You don't eat people. And you only, _only_ eat their souls when you need to, and once you are old enough, only take souls you make contracts for."

"...Yes, father." Elijah buried his head again, his eyes glowing hungrily. When he was older, he'd eat whatever he wanted, and that was that.

Sebastian continued on in silence, leaving town and growing closer to their home, "…Some demons do eat humans…and they are the reason that demons are seen as monsters…the reason that there are even some humans who have learned how to find and kill demons. If you made a habit of such a disgraceful thing…you'll be hunted by far more than you'll realize. Even if you can't return to Hell…Angels, reapers, humans…and even some demons would be out to terminate you…" he said in a low voice.

"Claude tells me I should always be conscious of my caste and bloodline," the boy mumbled, peeking out and seeing their home in the distance. "...Royalty, aren't we? We should have the right to eat whatever we want, damn what anyone else thinks."

"It doesn't work that way. Royals need to be even more law-abiding than the rest. We are revered because of our blood, Elijah, we are not respected on a level that we could do as we please. If anything, we have more rules and laws than the rest. And even if we are exiled, you should respect such traditions. We do not know the reasons for a good number of rules…but we know that for some, there are punishments that we could suffer without even being caught."

Elijah silently took this into consideration. There was some blood on Sebastian's neck, and he leaned in and licked it up slowly, shivering a little, without a word. Why would they make it taste so good, then?

"…You better not be licking off what I think you are." Sebastian commented, opening the door to the manor and heading straight for the nearest bathroom.

Elijah bowed his head, embarrassed. "N-no...Daddy just tastes good," he replied, blushing and clinging tighter to his arm. He hadn't even thought twice that it was Sebastian—he'd just seen the blood and gone for it.

Sebastian set him down and stripped him out of his clothes before starting to fill the tub, "…If I have let you get addicted to human blood…I'll never forgive myself…"

"N-no…daddy.." Elijah stood there, naked, in the bathroom. The malevolence was fading fast now too, and he felt very sick for what he'd done now. He'd made Claude angry at him... _disgusted_. He'd done a bad thing, and when he did those things, Claude or Sebastian got annoyed with him. This had to be a very bad thing, because Claude had gotten very angry.

He was a bad child.

Elijah's next course of action was to throw up all that mess onto the tiles of the bathroom floor, despite the fact that the toilet was just across the room. Making messes was another bad thing...he'd been so bad that day.

Sebastian paused in adding bubbles to the bath and looked at the mess, sighing. Couldn't the boy have at least ran over to the toilet? But on the other hand…if Elijah couldn't stomach flesh and blood of humans…maybe he didn't have to worry.

He straightened up, walking over to the boy who looked so…depressed, and he knelt down next to him, sliding his arms around him, "Can you promise me you'll never eat like that again?" he asked in a more gentle tone.

Elijah held his stomach, looking down at the blood-covered floor, and wiped his eyes. "C-can't, daddy...I can't control myself, s-sometimes..."

"You'll learn control…Claude and I have learned it, and I'll help you." He kissed his cheek, "Now go start washing yourself while I clean up this mess."

Elijah nodded and trudged off to the tub, climbing inside. He kept his eyes averted as Sebastian cleaned up...it wasn't right that a prince should have to do such a thing, right? That's what Claude would say.

After twenty minutes, he'd cleaned himself off completely, and when he'd finally finished getting dressed, with Sebastian at his side, there came a knock at his bedroom door. Claude appeared, bearing chocolate mousse.

Sebastian had removed his spoiled clothes and had quickly used a wet cloth to clean the blood from his skin after cleaning up his son's mess, and had just pulled on a pair of clean slacks when Claude made his appearance, "Are you in a better mood?"

"Somewhat," Claude replied, entering the room. He put the sweets down on Elijah's table.

"I apologize for losing my temper with you," he muttered to the boy, adjusting his glasses. He hated having to apologize, even to his own son. "I hope this will make up for it, as long as you've learnt your lesson."

"I'm sorry daddy…" Elijah said, lowering his gaze. He had been such a bad boy, he was sure he didn't deserve such a treat. In fact, he didn't know why Claude had made him a treat when he should be punished. Sent to his room to spend the night alone in his own bed without dessert.

"I've explained the situation to him on our walk home. And I don't think it'll be a problem again as long as we help strengthen his self-control." Sebastian said.

Claude ruffled the boy's hair. "Eat up. You've got physical training later tonight." He straightened up, looking to Sebastian, and reaching for his hand. "And...I owe you my apology too. Come...I must speak with you personally."

Sebastian nodded and looked over at Elijah, "Don't eat too much of that. You can save some for later." He said, not wanting Elijah to be on a sugar-high when it was time to settle in for bed. He then followed Claude out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Claude took his partner away to the music room, where they could talk privately. There was a little alcove, high up on the other side of the hall. Claude frequented it when he was moody, even had a violin especially left up there. He jumped up, and gestured his lover join him.

The crow followed, leaping up after him a little more clumsily than the other had, only reminding himself that his powers were still locked away, unlike his lover and son's.

Claude sat cross-legged, leaning against the wall. "So, as is par for the course with our lives, I have some good news and some bad news for you, Malphas."

"…Is it part of the reason for your mood earlier?" the crow frowned, moving over to sit next to Claude, "Does it…have something to do with your progress on finding a cure?"

Claude nodded. He reached up and played his pianist fingers in a lock of Sebastian's dark hair. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure we have a cure that will work for you," he said softly, starting him off with the good news. "I've done every test imaginable, and the results are...hopeful."

Sebastian's eyes widened. A cure? They found a cure? Already? Fames were an incurable illness, and in a few short months, a reaper and a demon working together had found it? He wasn't going to die? He'd be rid of the symptoms he had suffered with for most of his life? He couldn't even imagine what it'd be like to be a normal healthy demon again. To be able to live with Claude and Elijah without the fear of death looming over him…to have to contract with a normal amount of humans…

A genuine smile broke through the shock of the news, and he leaned in, drawing his lover into a hug, unable to stop the tears of joy from gathering in his ruby eyes. "Claude…you did it…you've saved me…"

Claude blinked. _He_ had never had such a bright reaction, but then...he did not yield quite the emotive range Sebastian did. He wrapped his arms tight around Sebastian. "I-it's just...I'm going to need you to do something for me," he said softly into his ear. "I'm going to need you to hold on. I-It's not for terribly long, but...the last ingredient we need..i-it won't be available for at least two years." He squeezed him tighter. "Promise me you can wait that long, and I will have you cured."

"You say that as if I'll fall victim to death at any moment…I'm not even having attacks. Two years…If having my powers locked away doesn't mess with how Ciel's soul is stating me…I won't even have a hint of an attack. The wait is practically nothing." He said, unknowing that he had been so close to death without realizing it during an attack already.

Claude said nothing, holding the demon tight. For the second time that day, he felt his eyes prickle. "..You never know...and if it does...you never know which time could be the last...So please, hold on for me," he told him, leaning back to stare hard at him. "And please live a very, very long time."

Something was bothering his lover. Pulling back enough to look into the spider's golden eyes, Sebastian reached up to cup his cheek, "If I start having attacks again, I have your potion…is something wrong? You can't be this upset over a two-year wait for an ingredient…"

How stupid...making Sebastian _promise_ , as if he had any choice in the matter. As if he could just not die by simply speaking such words. It hadn't worked with Ciel… why would it work with Sebastian?

"Just...promise," he said again desperately. "That's all I ask, on my part." He grit his teeth, but gold-glinting tears slipped from his eyes. "For everything I've done, for you, Malphas…Sebastian..." He gripped his shirt tightly in his fist. "Please just promise me you'll live a long time, and...raise our son well..."

"…I promise…." He said, his joy of a cure dampened, "Cimeries…this cure…is it dangerous? Is that why you are so worried?"

As useless an effect said promise would have on Sebastian's lifespan, so was the promise made void of any meaning or depth. Claude blinked, another teardrop spilling down his cheek, and his shoulders slumped a little in disbelief. "No," the demon said in a tight voice. "It just meant a lot to me that you said it…"

"Claude…" he whispered and leaned in against him, drying the tear on his cheek with a gentle kiss, "I promise I won't die, I have you to help me, after all. We've gotten this far…and now…I can dare to hope. I can spend forever with you without fear…Elijah can live without wondering if he'd loose a father…Whatever has you worried…we can get through it. I know that now."

The demon got up mechanically. "Still…I'd be content if you paid half as much attention to knowing the price of your debt as you did to me getting you a cure for this," he muttered, nursing bruised feelings. He got down from the alcove and stalked out.

Sebastian watched him leave, and slumped back against the wall. He hadn't forgotten his debt…not really. But, his debt had surpassed what he was able to repay long before they had become lovers. He owed Claude so much he couldn't ever repay…the spider could treat him more as a slave than a lover and he's let it happen, as depressing as the thought was. Cursing to himself, he stood up to leave the music room. Having his debt dragged back into his conscious mind was threatening to overwhelm the thought of his cure being so close.

* * *

To be continued...


	35. Chapter 35

A few days later, Claude found himself strolling into the room where Sebastian was reclining, quite similar to a cat. It was attractive, and if he was in a better mood he might have had some fun making him 'purr'. "Sebastian, it's lunchtime. Could you take care of it?" he asked, turning a cold glance in his direction.

Elijah rolled over. "I'm so hungry!"

"...Alright." Sebastian pushed himself up and strolled out of the room, grumbling once he was alone in the Halls. For the last few days, he had been handling all the chores around the house. Lunch, supper, even breakfast which Claude had usually handled so he could sleep in. He felt like a servant again, though he refused to complain. Claude was the one to ask him to do everything, after all. Even if he could feel it effecting him physically. He'd stared going to bed when Elijah did just to get the sleep he seemed to require.

He slipped into the kitchen and began to gather ingredients to prepare dinner.

Claude 'hmh'ed and lay down where Sebastian had been. It was nice and warm from the man's body heat.

Elijah gave Claude a kiss on the forehead and disappeared after Sebastian, much more enthusiastic about cooking in general nowadays and always eager to learn recipes. Plus he always got morsels if he waited, though Sebastian and Claude discouraged begging heavily.

"What's for dinner?" the boy asked keenly, swirling into the room.

"Spiced Chicken, rolls, and a small side-salad." The crow said simply, feeling like making something quick and simple, "Would you like to help again?"

Elijah nodded enthusiastically, climbing up onto his customary spot on the kitchen counter. He vaguely remembered when he needed his father's help to get him up there. Now he was big enough. He smiled as he got comfortable, excited for the day he could be as big and strong as his fathers. "Ooh, and dessert?"

"We have left over slices of cake from last night that should do." He said, pushing a bowl and some spices over to his son, "Do you remember how much of each spice to use?"

Elijah pouted a little. "...I did bad today," he said quietly. "I got scolded a lot. Claude seems very grumpy lately." He looked down, still picking spices. "...I nibbled his finger yesterday and he made me sit in my room for an hour, and didn't even bring cake afterwards."

"You can't expect to be spoiled with cake after every time you are scolded. We scold you so you learn. And how many times has he told you not to chew on his fingers?" his father ripped the dough and set balls of it on a pan to sit and raise while he prepped the chicken, "But you are right. He has been grumpy."

"Not expecting," Elijah said softly. "He's just always done it. Every single time...he can't scold me without bringing me something afterwards," he said with a tiny smile. "I was sleeping, anyway...I didn't mean to."

"I thought you hate naps." He teased his son, cutting strips of chicken breast and adding the spice mix Elijah had made. He wasn't going to say that Claude often handled half the work around the house as well, but hasn't. It wasn't Elijah's problem.

Elijah paused a little. "I just don't like sleeping at all," he mumbled. "Bad Things always happen when I sleep. And then there's the nightmares..." He frowned with a wisdom beyond his years, then sighed.

"I thought the nightmares had stopped." Sebastian paused in his task and turned his full attention to his son.

Elijah shrugged. "Sorta," he said cryptically, and had nothing more to say about it after that, tending to the fry pan a little while Sebastian cut the chicken.

"You do know you can talk to Claude and I about anything if you are having problems with something." He muttered, carefully laying a slice of chicken into the heated pan.

Elijah nodded. "I know." The boy observed his father doing this, then started making the salad. He didn't like salads much, but he made them anyway.

Sebastian put the rest of the chicken in the pan and slipped the rolls in the oven. He then moved his attention back to the chicken, bumping his hand on the pan, "Ow! Damn it!" he jerked his hand back.

Elijah glanced up worriedly. "Daddy!" he cried. He'd never really seen Sebastian get hurt before.

"I'm fine…just wasn't paying attention." He reassured him, wondering how long it would take to heal. He pushed the pain aside and flipped the chicken strips and walked over to clean the dishes that had touched the raw chicken. "How's that salad coming?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder as he worked. Attempting to keep his burned hand out of the hot water.

"Fine," the boy mumbled, chopping some tomatoes to go in it, and preparing some bocconcini. He wondered when he would be allowed to lick wounds better. He knew Sebastian and Claude always licked each other's wounds, because their saliva had healing abilities, and he knew his own did too. But he didn't ask, keeping focused on his work.

"Well, this time don't leave out the spi—" as he spoke, he felt the blade of the knife he had been cleaning slip, cutting deep into his hand. Two clumsy accidents while preparing one meal? Why was he so distracted? Holding back a curse, he dropped the knife and dish cloth reaching for an unused cloth to use to stop the blood that was quickly flooding his palm and dripping from his fingertips.

Elijah stiffened, his head turning on an unnatural angle as he breathed in the scent. His pupils dilated to the point where the orange in his irises was barely visible. He barely even remembered what happened next; leaping from the counter and knocking Sebastian to the floor with his super-human strength, pinning him, grabbing his wrist and sucking deeply from the injury.

The crow let out a startled cry, shocked at being knocked over so easily. Yes, his powers were still locked, but was he really that weak?

"E-Elijah! Get off me!" he found himself actually struggling against his young son, trying to pull his bleeding hand from the boy, and to get him off so he could get up.

Sebastian's powers, and most of his strength, had been locked away, leaving him easy prey for the young boy. Some of Elijah's demonic features had presented themselves—a baby pair of horns, a little tail, plus fangs and razor teeth. He gripped Sebastian's palm between said teeth and sucked at the flowing, precious royal blood, little mews of contentment escaping him, like a child at the breast of his mother.

"Stop! ELIJAH!" Sebastian was getting more desperate as he struggled, actually feeling faint from the blood loss. Panic set in. He could handle so much more than this…with his powers. But he honestly felt human…vulnerable…helpless and at the child's mercy.

Elijah paused, staring over his father when he heard the panic in his tone. He didn't get off him, but just watched him for a long minute, breathing in that scent of fear.

Breathing hard, Sebastian yanked his bleeding hand back away from the boy, staring hard at him. "Elijah…what…were you doing?"

Elijah was breathing equally hard, and then he jumped up. "I'm-I'm sorry—" He ran from the room after that, frightened and not wanting to be punished.

Feeling a bit shaken, the crow pushed himself up, and finished wrapping his hand. With the cloth and staring at it. He didn't know what to think over what had happened, a simple accident had resulted in him truly growing afraid for his life, though he didn't think he'd die from it, even if Elijah hadn't stopped. But it did open his eyes as to how vulnerable he was.

Elijah didn't know where he could hide—his fathers would always find him, even without his tracking duck. He ran all the way up to the attic and took refuge there, sobbing fearfully. He'd _attacked_ his father.

Sebastian finished dinner quickly, and set it out before informing Claude, walking back to poke his head in the room, "Claude…Dinner's ready… Go ahead and start while I find Elijah."Claude thanked him and got up, heading out to the dining room to eat.

Elijah had found a beanbag and curled up with it and his duck toy, crying softly. What a bad, awful child he was. Kids could be killed for much less in the demon world, he knew that now.

It didn't take Sebastian long to find Elijah, and he approached slowly, "Elijah, Dinner's ready. Come down to eat." He reached out with his uninjured hand to touch his shoulder, "I'm…not angry."

Elijah shook his head into the duck. "No." He clung tighter to it, sniffling. "I shouldn't eat tonight. Or tomorrow night."

"Why? Because you showed me how weak I am right now? Elijah…" he sat down and pulled him into his lap, "I wasn't aware of it. I knew my powers are locked, but I have been acting as if I was still…untouchable. Unable to get hurt during this time when my illness has calmed. You just proved that that is not the case. I need to be more careful."

Elijah whined. "I don't want daddy to think he's weak," he sniffed. "I don't want to be stronger than you. You're supposed to be taking c-care of me…"

"I…need to know my current limits. I'll be strong again when Claude unlocks my powers and the cure he's been working on is ready. But…Claude was right when he told me to…not die. He knew I'm not as strong as I am used to. I need to be careful."

Elijah looked up, wiping his eyes. Of course Sebastian couldn't die. What sort of request was that? "N-no...daddy...I was bad. I have been told many times not to...I just…I can't..." He looked down, holding his duck to his chest. "...I promise I'll make it up to you, daddy. P-please let me make it up!"

"Of course I will. What kind of father would I be if I didn't? You are a good boy, Elijah. You just have a few bad moments." He hugged him tighter.

Elijah pouted. "Too many," he sniffled. "Why can't I be a better child?" He took Sebastian's arm. "Why can't I be perfect like my fathers?"

"We weren't always perfect. And we still aren't. And I can honestly say you are the most perfect young demon I have ever interacted with. You're the perfect son. I'd never give you up for anything." He pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Come on down to dinner."

Elijah nodded, getting up and walking downstairs with him. Claude had just about finished his own dinner at that point, and thanked Sebastian again as the boy sat down to eat.

"Claude…can I speak to you if you are finished?" Sebastian asked once Elijah was started on his meal.

Claude stood up, glancing between the teary-eyed boy, and his partner. "...What's he done now?"

"This isn't about him." he said, reaching out to take Claude's arm.

Claude drew his hand from the man's reach and stood up. "Very well." He exited the room with his partner, casting him an uninterested look. "What?"

"I'm sorry." He started once they were out of Elijah's hearing range, "I've been…stubborn and…I just wasn't understanding of the situation."

Claude leaned against the wall, bearing out the window. "Understanding of what situation?" he asked dryly.

"My situation…You asked me not to die…and I didn't think I could…but I was wrong. I should have listened to you better about it." He said apologetically.

Claude shrugged. "Fine," he said, frowning and staring away. "Is that all, Sebastian? I have some things I should be attending to..."

"Cimeries…" he reached out and took his arm again, "I won't die. I promise." Sebastian looked him in the eye, "I won't."

Claude shrugged again. "Well, good?" he asked condescendingly, checking his watch and adjusting his glasses. "Good to hear you have no plans for such a thing."

"But that's what you want from me, isn't it? For payment of my debt to you?" Sebastian added, his grip tightening, causing pain to shoot through his hurt hand.

The Trancy demon grit his teeth, a spider rested on Sebastian's shoulder warningly. "...Forget it," he said irritably. "Why would I owe you a thing? It's not as if my life was ruined by being with you."

"You don't owe me! But weather or not we are lovers doesn't erase my debt to you. And you have been moody and irritable ever since you asked me to not die. I didn't quite understand it then…but I think I do now… But if I'm wrong, tell me!"

Claude looked at the hand gripping him, then up at Sebastian. "You're so thick, Michaelis," he snapped. "And I said forget it. The moment's gone. I don't care about the stupid debt."

"If you didn't care, then why are you so upset with me? Maybe I was a little thick and slow, but I'm not blind. You have been avoiding me and my touches. You have been keeping me busy with all the work around this estate…I have been so busy I hardly get to see Elijah, let alone you away from meals. You are upset. Don't even try to deny it. And I know it is my fault."

Claude straightened up to his full height, looking away with a deep frown. "Fine. Yes, you damaged my pride when you failed to understand the significance of my offer. One could say I put my very heart on the line to say that, and you..." He scowled. "You can't get the moment back. I appreciate that you'll just try to avoid death for me, but it…sort of lacks the sentiment now."

"Claude…I know I can't say anything to make it up to you, but the sentiment is still there…for me. You know you and our son is everything to me…nothing is more important…I won't let myself be taken from you two." He slipped around in front of Claude again, "…Please."

Claude's golden eyes stared hard into Sebastian's, and his jaw hardened a little. "Y-yes," he muttered, slowly turning his gaze downwards. "...Please try hard nonetheless. I still need you."

"I will. I promise." He reached up to push a lock of hair out of the spider demon's face, his voice soft and heartfelt, "I promise."

Claude glanced up at him again, a large hand reaching up and cupping Sebastian's cheek. "...You're still...as beautiful as ever, you know..."

Sebastian gave a small smile, "As are you, Love." He said, leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

Claude held the kiss, deepened it, breathing in Sebastian's scent. The man could drive him crazy. Sebastian was breathtaking. "You're going to be my family," Claude whispered. "You and Avnas."

"I thought we already were," He smiled, running his fingertips over his cheek, happy to see some of the warmth back in his lover's gaze, "You and he have been mine since he was born."

Claude nodded. "Now and forever," he added simply, tilting his head into the touch. "I've been acting a little immature lately, Malphas. I should apologize."

"Mm, You needn't apologize, Cimeries, but if you insist upon it…" he smiled and kissed him again, "I wasn't going to ask this, but, could you heal a cut for me?" he raised his burnt and cut hand, "I got a little careless earlier."

Claude nodded. "That's what I'm here for. To take care of you," he said simply, gently pulling the bandages away so he could observe the cut. He paused upon seeing it, his golden eyes flicked up to Sebastian. "It seems there's quite a story behind this injury."

The crow nodded, "The small burn aside, I cut myself while cleaning the dishes…and then promptly discovered how weak I am, and how strong our son is. I've already talked to him about it…though I think he is still upset over it." He said, glancing at the fang marks around the other-wise clean cut from the knife. He hadn't paid much mind to it, too distracted by his thoughts at the time. But now there was no denying that a demon had sunk his fangs into his palm.

Claude shook his head. "That child...when is this whole cannibal thing supposed to wear off, Sebastian? One of these days I'm going to wake up without a hand." It was good to hear, at least, that Elijah had become powerful.

"I don't know." He sighed, "He's got a bloodlust he can't seem to control. I barely had the time to turn away from the sink before he had me pinned to the ground."

"How interesting," Claude murmured. "Just when I was beginning to think he wasn't much more sinful than a human. I was worried he'd be too soft."

"Our son? Too soft? He has both of us in him. There is no way he's too soft. He's just…sheltered from the true form of most sin. He'll learn them as he grows older."

"Good," said Claude, and turned away. "I'll take care of dessert, tonight...And Sebastian? ...I love you." With a smirk, he left his partners side and disappeared.

* * *

To be continued...


	36. Chapter 36

Normally, to Sebastian, two years would wiz on by, hardly noticed. And Elijah's rapid growth from a six year old boy to a strong, handsome young man appearing to be about eighteen years old, should have helped the time feel like it passed faster. However, such was not the case.

With Claude needing to feed his energy to the plant as it grew, they had been unable to unlock his powers, and he felt more and more human each passing month. As Elijah grew stronger, he grew weaker and more susceptible to human illnesses such as colds. Chores became harder to do, and his movements more clumsy. He could also feel his illness drawing closer again each day. Ciel's soul, because most of what made him a demon was locked away, had proven to be not enough to last him as long as it should have. But he would refuse to let himself die. He began to treat himself like a human, trying to evade catching cold.

The triplets hadn't lasted long, their life forces giving out one-by-one after half a year of being used to relieve stress, and the family had then moved from the old Trancy estate to a new home further outside London's city limit. It was a smaller house, but had more land, which proved to be a relaxing change to the family.

Elijah had also grown into more self-control with his blood-lust, and was fast becoming as 'perfect as his fathers' like he had always wanted.

The sound of hoofs on the dirt thundered across the hills of their new Estate, and Sebastian, out for a relaxing ride along some of his favorite paths, sped back over towards the stable. Slowing to a trot as he grew closer. He hopped down and took the saddle off the black mare, wiping her down properly after their trip, and giving her a treat before letting her into the horse pasture.

Pushing his hair out of his face, he headed back in towards the house, eager for some lunch. He was so dependant on human food.

Claude had made lunch, of course, one of his favorites. He had made it a few times before, but he simply adored salt and pepper calamari with a fresh, crispy noodle salad. The flavors were all so tangy and vibrant. He had watched Sebastian coming in from some distance away, smiling a little to himself.

It had been so nice to move such a distance away from the city. For demons, it was excellent to have such a lovely, secluded spot. It was really quite isolated, as carriages couldn't traverse the hillside to get to it. They had their own personal little branch of the River Thames to go along with it, where they visited often.

Their life had been problem free for the most part. Their son was a genius, and yet he could never have the perfect handle on his bloodlust that Claude and Sebastian had. He had never lost the taste for blood and flesh.

Claude slipped the band from his hair, which he had grown long at the back. He ran his fingers through the dark, violet locks, then rewrapped the band, pulling it back once more but making sure his bangs still shaped his face.

He brought out some tea just as Sebastian entered the room.

"Smells good." Sebastian smiled as he slipped over to the sink to wash his hands. He had warn riding gloves, but dirt always still found a way in. He snapped his hands over the sink to get most of the water off before reaching for a hand towel. He then walked over to Claude, running his fingers through his ponytail while he slipped his other hand around his front. He admittedly had grown quite fond of his lover's longer hair, especially at night when they found themselves alone in their bedroom.

Resting his chin on Claude's shoulder, he looked down at the tea that was being prepared, "So where's Elijah? I didn't see him in his favorite spot in the back garden when I came in."

Claude adjusted his glasses. "I believe he took to the river. Despite my constantly advising against it, he likes to bathe down there. And, perhaps, to use and dispose of a lover whilst he is there..." He reached around and squeezed Sebastian's backside, a fond smirk appearing on his face. "It means, however, that you and I have some time together."

Sebastian jumped slightly, "And yet you are still making tea." He teased, slipping between the demon and the counter, his fingers trailing over his shoulders and down his chest.

"I am an Englishman," Claude replied with a smirk. "And I have already considered the possibility of bedding you, considered it substantially whilst you were out, and alas...there is something that takes priority over even that." He said it with a faint sigh, putting down his tea, and slipping his arms around Sebastian. The poor man had to sleep a lot, in order to keep the strict training regime he'd been put on to keep at the top of his physical ability.

"I suppose you're right, and we did have quite an exciting night last night, why top it so soon?" The crow smirked and stole a kiss before teasing, a hint of a laugh in his voice. "Tea is much more important."

"Well, not more important than sex," Claude smirked. "Even if we are both Englishman. For now, having lunch is important, but then I must head down to the shop again so the stupid plant can suck my energy away."

"It's only for a little longer, Love. When was it that you can harvest it? The Winter Equinox? Fall is already half over. The trees are mostly bare and we are getting frost in the early mornings." Sebastian pulled out two teacups and poured them each some tea, "You have done amazingly these past two years."

Claude smiled. "It will be ready soon. As you know, the fruit has been growing steadily over the last few months...just a little longer, and...it should be ready." He sat down at the table, watching Sebastian pour the tea, seeing his hands shake just a little.

The crow set down the teapot and picked up the cups, walking over to set them down on the table before taking his seat. Much better than the previous day's afternoon tea. He had dropped a cup and it had shattered across the floor, hot tea splashing up his white riding slacks. It had been incredibly embarrassing, especially as both Elijah and Claude had witnessed it. He had disappeared after that and spent a few hours in the barn with the barn cat and her kittens.

Claude said nothing on the subject, letting the man repair his damaged pride by handling the tea again today. "Are you looking forward to being cured?" he asked conversationally, reaching for his fork and spearing a spiral of spicy squid. "After all this time?"

"Yes, though I must admit I do not know what to expect. I was not much older than Elijah when I had my first attack and found out about my illness. I don't remember what it had been like before. I don't know what changes I should expect other than no longer having death hanging over my head." He sipped his tea, letting it linger on his tongue a moment, "Certainly It will be nice not to make so many simple mistakes any longer. You'll no longer have to tend to that plant and can unlock my powers."

Claude nodded. "Your mistakes are barely noticeable," he said reassuringly, though they both knew it wasn't the case. "I look forward to it, too. You mightn't have realized, but we've been together for over three years. That's tiny, in perspective of our lives, but...you've not lived a millennium. We will rule the world together, for many, many more." He leaned over and kissed his partner. "You will feel...transcendental."

"Three years with you, has it already been that long?" he teased with a smile. He had become more expressive over the past two years, a little more open to showing genuine smiles. "It feels like a lifetime ago when we were rivals trying to kill each other."

Claude tugged the demon's collar down, nipping at his neck to draw a little blood. "Doesn't mean I don't like to...smack you around," he purred, his eyes sliding over Sebastian's smile. He had become rather fond of these genuine displays of emotion, it helped him understand how Sebastian was feeling. "I have two years worth of catching up to do on that, once you get your strength back." His tongue slid over the bleeding area.

The crow shivered, allowing a small groan to slip past his lips, "Not that you ever treat me gentle…but I do look forward to you going all out on me…" he tilted his head, offering his neck and the precious red liquid gathering at the small cut his lover had made, "Our first night together after I'm cured and my powers are back…I say we let Elijah go out that night. We wouldn't want him complaining the next morning that we were interrupting whatever he was doing."

Claude sighed softly as he licked up the blood, a pleasurable shudder going through him as always.

"Got it," came a voice from the door. "If you'd like for me to get out of the house so you two can fuck, you could just say so." Elijah flashed them a grin as he strode in the door, his heeled boots thudding against the floor as he crossed the room. He ran a hand through his own violet hair, brushing his bangs out of his face.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, his ruby gaze following a trail of mud along the floor from Elijah's boots, "I think it is safe to assume you had a good time down at the river, but if you plan on going out this evening, you had better mop this floor first. I just cleaned the floors this morning."

Elijah swiveled where he stood, looking down at the mud on the floor. "Ah, right." He paused, unzipping the boots and letting them clunk on the floor. "Good plan. Definitely going to go out tonight—met a cute little Irishman yesterday, and he'll be fun to drink with, if nothing else." He winked at them.

Claude licked up the last of the blood from Sebastian's neck and sat back to eat.

"Are you planning to be home tonight, or tomorrow, then?" Sebastian asked, knowing all too well what 'met a cute' and 'going out tonight' usually added up to for his son, "Or should we plan to prepare breakfast for four?" Elijah didn't usually bring men home with him, but it had happened once, quite unexpectedly. The young human teenager had been wanting a shower to clean up before he left, and hadn't expected to find Claude and Sebastian in the bathroom, having just gotten out of their own shower.

Elijah grinned again. "Tonight's definitely the night I'm gonna get drunk. He's Irish, after all~" Elijah found it very difficult to get drunk, being a demon meant having a strong tolerance to human liquors. But he loved trying new things.

"I don't think I'll be bringing anyone home if I'm shi—sorry, if I'm inebriated." He breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of Sebastian's blood on the air. He swallowed. It wasn't much...he could control it at this level.

"If you even get close to being that drunk, it may be likely you'll bring home more than this Irishman." Sebastian teased his son, "And as long as you clean the floor before you go, I don't care. Oh, and do tell them to knock on the door if they want a shower. Humans aren't used to seeing two naked demons, one or which may or may not have his horns out. I would have never guessed that small guy you had brought home with you last time could run so fast." The crow got up and walked over to refill his tea. During his afternoon ride, he had started feeling small cramps. Nothing big, and nothing that set off alarms for him, but the tea usually helped to ease such aches, and one cup hadn't touched it. In fact, it started to feel a little worse.

"Would you like tea, Elijah?" he asked, already reaching for a cup.

Claude snorted in amusement at the memory. "The look on his face," he commented with a nostalgic smirk. Elijah was already preparing to clean the floor. With his abilities, it took him a grand total of five seconds to have it spotless—no, to have the whole room spotless.

Elijah's eager smirk faded imperceptibly as he remembered the previous day's incident. "Oh, well, you know, maybe not? Saving room for more drinking," he said as nonchalantly as possible, gently shifting Sebastian's hand away from the cup.

"If you say so." He said, unknowing as to if that was the real reason, or if Elijah was worried for the china. He picked up his cup once more and turned to return to his seat, "When do you plan to l—"

Sebastian cut himself off, the simple cramps suddenly twisting painfully, sending sharp pains through his body, and his stomach feeling like he'd be sick. His hand shook, tea spilling from his cup and dripping down it's sides and his fingers. His eyes widened as he looked at Claude across the room. There was no doubt what the pain was; he was having an attack. The pain spiked again and he gasped, dropping the cup in order to grab the counter, his other hand flying to his stomach as he fought back the urge to retch all over the kitchen floor in front of his son.

Elijah stumbled back, horrified, and Claude was with Sebastian in seconds. There was no doubt at all, Aeterna Fames had reared its ugly head once more.

"Damn it," he hissed, grabbing his poor lover into his arms and guiding him to the nearest lounge room. "Elijah, go to the herb garden, grab spearmint," he ordered as he set Sebastian down.

"Not this soon…not when we are so—close!" Sebastian gasped out in pain. His cure was so close…and he knew that any attack could end him. Though, compared to the attacks he had been having when he had been contracted to Ciel, this one didn't seem so bad. He had managed to stay standing, at least…but he wasn't able to hold his lunch down. He reached out, grabbing the large vase off the nearby side table and yanked the flowers out before he heaved into it, having not had the time to grab a proper bucket.

Claude had kept up the practice of making Sebastian's potion, just in case such an incident occured again. He'd seen the signs again—Sebastian had been a little weaker lately. He had his own private medicines/magic mini-laboratory of sorts, and he rushed down to put the potion together as fast as he could.

It would be just like God to take Sebastian from him when they were so close, he thought irritably.

Elijah knew the spearmint was to ease nausea, and at the sound of his father heaving into a flower vase, he didn't need Claude to tell him what to do. He stuffed the herbs into the tea and nervously brought the tea out, his skin paler than usual. "D-drink this...y-you'll feel better…"

Sebastian heaved once more before wiping his chin off and shakingly taking the tea, sipping it and setting it back down, knowing he'd want to save most of it for after the potion, "I…had hoped—that you'd never have to—see me like this…" he groaned weakly, his breath growing heavy, "Elijah…"

Elijah shook his head. "No," he whispered, his cocky, somewhat arrogant attitude fading a little. "I-I don't care, I just want you to be alright—you're going to be alright, aren't you?" He asked, gripping Sebastian's shirt. "Daddy?"

"Been…gnh…a while since you've called me that…" he struggled to put a smile on his face, "I'm not—about to leave my b-baby boy. Claude won't—let me either." He gave his son's arm a weak squeeze.

Elijah looked at him fearfully, the first beginnings of tears starting to sting at his eyes. Claude returned to Sebastian's side, rounding on Elijah. "Leave," he said simply.

"But-"

" _Out_ ," Caude said sharply, and the teen left the room. The spider demon said nothing after that, wordlessly administering the potion to his lover.

Sebastian grimaced at the familiar taste, and it almost came back up, but he managed to keep it down, reaching out for the tea to wash out the taste and settle his stomach. He sat in silence, relaxing as his entire body grew numb. The sweet relief of numbness. Now that he wasn't pressed for time, needing to get back to a master, he was able to fully enjoy the numb feeling, leaning over and resting his head on his lover's lap.

"You didn't have to send him out…he already saw me having the attack…" he muttered after a while.

Claude sat beside him so Sebastian could lay on him. "My apologies. I thought your dignity might appreciate it nonetheless. You can't even move, after all…" He stroked his partner's soft hair. He grit his teeth and exhaled slowly, inwardly quite upset that Sebastian's attacks had returned.

"He walked in to see me hurling into a vase. After that, this is nothing…unless I look ridiculous under the effects of your potion and you never told me...He's just worried, like we both know you and I are."

Claude cringed a little. "...You look beautiful all the time, even when hurling into a vase," he said in a gentle tone, petting Sebastian soothingly. "I'll make sure we ease his spirits before he leaves...he won't have any fun with his Irish friend if he's worried about you, after all...And Elijah is always so happy now that he can safely meet new people.."

"Such a social butterfly. He never seems to be spending time with the same people twice." He gave a small smile, "He grew up so fast…even if he's a demon." He paused and looked up at Claude, "Do you think he'll ever slow down and build a real relationship like we have?"

"Not for a long time, if ever," Claude replied thoughtfully. "Though I think you and I are rather remarkable role-models for a demon-demon love relationship, if I do say so myself. He may be influenced in that regard..."

"He's only been to Hell once, and he was so young. With his powers unlocked again, no one would ever know he's born of two fathers. He stands a chance to meet a nice demon, and later on, if they have started a real relationship, if the demon loves our son, he won't care if he learns the truth." He gave a small chuckle, "The more time passes, the more it seems our punishment for keeping him alive, hardly even exists."

"Well worth it, really." Claude smirked a little. "He can choose whatever he likes, too...I know he's taken a few girls already, but he seems to prefer boys...Do you think that's our fault?" He chuckled a little at the thought, a little surprised by the sound...but it had been increasingly frequent over the two years. "And then there was the cross-dresser...not to mention the desire he's expressed for us to 'teach' him…"

"'Teach him'." The crow couldn't help but give a small laugh, "With what he walks in on us doing, I say we have taught him quite a bit. I swear he walks in on us intentionally, anymore. But, He really does take after you quite a bit. If you've noticed, none of his flings have been with larger males. He really seems to like a cute little thing he can really get on top of…" he paused, a blush crossing his cheeks, "Not that I'm small and cute. I just mean you like control…as does he…" he added hurriedly. He had forgotten how loose the potion made his tongue sometimes.

Claude flashed a devilish grin at him. "You're definitely cute and easy to get on top of~" he murmured, kissing the flush rising in his partner's cheeks. "But you're certainly not 'small', oh no~" He trailed a little web over the man's cheeks.

"I think I prefer it when you use the term 'beautiful' rather than 'cute'." He shifted, testing his numb body and finding it still too numb, "I dare say, you have gotten me way too used to wearing dresses over the years…Maybe I'll slip one on for you when you get back from tending to that plant at the Undertaker's, hmm?"

"Ah, you're still cute though," Claude purred, trailing a hand down the man's body and leaving a little webbing as he did so, spiraling a little bit of it over his groin almost artistically. "I'll hold you to that though," he said in all seriousness, biting his lip amusedly. "And the boy...Well, I _could_ help out, but...I think I'll let him learn the hard way. By experience."

"It is the best way for him to learn." He nodded, "But it'd be nice if he could meet someone who isn't human. It can't be fun having to hold himself back so he doesn't kill them on accident. He'd learn faster if he could go all out with someone else immortal." Inwardly, Sebastian was already thinking about their evening once Claude returned. Elijah would be gone, so they'd have full range of the house.

"It is also imperative that he learns control, however," Claude replied. "He has always had issues with that, in one way or another...did you notice the way he stiffened around the scent of your blood?" He nuzzled him, then shifted out from underneath him, flicking his ponytail back over his shoulder.

"I did." He nodded, "But I think his attacking me in the kitchen when he was younger was good for him. It made him realize he needs to keep control." He sighed and closed his eyes, "Though his control isn't perfect."

"He never mentions what he does with the lovers he tires of," Claude murmured aloud, then shrugged. "Oh well. That is neither here nor there right now. What matters is you easing out of your numbness. Start your hand exercises. ...Will you be coming with me to the Undertaker?"

"Not this time." He slowly shook his head, "Given the circumstances, I think that after I do a few strength training exercises, I should rest a bit before you return. I do recall resting did help my attacks a little."

Claude nodded. "If you're going to be okay here, I have a set time to be there, and I should depart." He breathed a sigh of relief that the attack had not occurred _after_ he'd given his power to the plant. "If the boy doesn't do what he's told," He shrugged. "Ground him tonight, or something."

"I'll be fine. I only ever once had an attack twice in one day, and that was…provoked. Go tend to that plant and whatever else the two of you do. I'll be here waiting for you when you come back." He smiled and pushed himself back up, still a little numb, but he had some movement back in his control, even if it was a little impaired.

Claude frowned a tad, and left without another word. Ah yes, that had been his fault, hadn't it... He'd triggered that attack by kicking Sebastian...Truly regrettable. Absentmindedly he rubbed his scar. It only prickled when he thought about it, which wasn't often. He was glad every day that the injury wasn't making him go crazy anymore.

He passed by Elijah, sitting along in his bedroom, facing the wall and shuddering. Claude found this curious, wondering if he was crying.

After a minute, it became obvious by the black smoke rising from the young man's palms, and the beaded necklace he was holding…

"Avnas!" he said sharply.

Elijah jumped, scrambling to hide his hands and the prayer beads burning them as he turned to look up at his father. He immediately stood up, "Father…is…Sebastian..?"

Claude's eyes flashed. "Sebastian's just fine, so you can put that stupid thing down right now. Honestly, I thought you'd gotten over this ridiculous attempt at being one of 'God's children.' I thought you understood by now."

The teenager hung his head and set the beads aside, "I just thought…I didn't want Sebastian to…and I can't do anything to help!"

Claude frowned, his anger fading. He entered the youth's room and took his shoulder. "All you've done is ruined your lovely hands," he replied, taking the wounded palms and using magic to heal them as much as it could, which, when it came to holy wounds, wasn't a great deal. "How will you write? Cook? Play music? How will you _touch_ , like this?" He kissed the boy's forehead. "I know your heart is in the right place, but...put your faith in me instead. I will take care of Sebastian."

"But I want to help, Father. When you sent me out…I had no way of knowing if we were loosing him…" tears prickled at his eyes again, "I want to help save him. Help make him the strong father I know he is…like he was before Hell found out about me."

"This is solely my mission, child," Claude replied, bringing his thumbs to the boy's long lashes. "Do not start this crying business, you know better. If I didn't know what I was doing, he would be dead. Just...do what you're told, and be a good boy. Do what he asks you."

"…I wish I was a mage like you…so I could help…What if he has another one? And you aren't here?"

"Then I will soon be made aware, via our blood-bond," Claude responded simply. "And I'll port to his side immediately." He frowned towards him, irritated that Elijah did not have faith in his medical abilities.

Elijah hung his head, still feeling useless. He loved both his fathers more than anything, and he hated not being of any real help to them, especially with Sebastian's illness…and it frustrated him that Claude didn't want his help. "Can I go see him now?"

"You may," Claude responded. "And you can tell him what a fool you were by resorting to prayer unnecessarily." He added the last word because, in times of crisis and desperation, Claude felt better for the act, even if it burned. He had control of this situation...one should never ask God for petty things, especially a demon.

The boy gave a solemn nod and shuffled out of the room to go see his other father and confess his foolish act, even though he thought it could do some good. He would help Sebastian that evening, even if he had to cancel his plans. Family came first.

Of course, Sebastian wouldn't hear of it, insisting he push his worry aside and go have fun with his date, after reprimanding the teenager for praying and burning his hands for no reason.

Elijah hadn't wanted to leave his father, especially knowing that Claude had left to tend to the plant that would help cure Sebastian. The crow demon seemed unsteady. But Sebastian explained it was only a side-effect that would wear off, and finally, reluctantly, the young demon left.

Finally alone, Sebastian made good on his promise to do some of his strength training exercises, and then he took a light nap, waking up in time to ready himself for Claude's return. Slipping on a tight black dress, its skirt long enough to pool around his ankles, even after slipping on some healed thigh-high boots over his stockings held up by a garter belt. A vent was cut in the skirt along one side up to his hip. A sinful dress Claude had made for him, and that he hadn't yet warn or tried on.

Choosing to go all out, he took the time to apply some black eye makeup and accessorized. A black leather choker, black gloves, and a custom silver hairclip in the shape of a silver spider web, black ribbons and crow feathers adorning it. He also lengthened his hair and pulled it into a ponytail.

Once he felt ready, he spread himself out on the Méridienne located in the music room, the lights dimmed, and holding a single red rose. He felt quite feminine, but also, being in so much black leather and lace, he strangely felt more like the demon he was, than he had in a long time due to his weakening state.

It was the same schedule, day after day, for Claude. Since the three of them were well accustomed to human food, they were in and out of the kitchen quite a lot. This wasn't to say they didn't take souls—Elijah still did on occasion, but Claude had yet to become hungry again. The same applied to Sebastian.

He often wondered what would happen when he did get hungry, again. Leave this comfortable life to serve under another master? It seemed…difficult to imagine. It was almost as if he simply _would_ take the lesser quality souls, just so he didn't have to leave the side of his lover.

Aside from doing a large amount of the cooking, Claude was always attending to the estate—its gardens, its animals. He spent a long time each day indulging in his hobbies too, sewing, music, reading. And at some point in this day, he would always have to make time (usually after lunch) to visit the retired shinigami, and offer his power to the plant whose fruit would be vital in curing Sebastian's fatal disease; Aeterna Fames.

He was usually quite tired after this, so nothing he did was too strenuous. He usually read, and Sebastian or Elijah would prepare dinner. Then he would shower, and perhaps head to bed if nothing else required his attention.

Upon arriving back from giving his power to the Snowburst plant, however, he paused as he crossed the doorway of the music room, Sebastian's form catching his eye. A keen smirk spread over his face. Maybe he would be doing something strenuous, tonight.

Sebastian's lips curled into a seductive smile, and he held up a gloved hand, his finger beckoning to his lover, his other hand, still holding the long stemmed rose, running up along his exposed leg. The rose's thorns scraping along leather and then his skin, leaving behind a thin line where it scraped his flesh.

It had been a few months since he had last seduced Claude, and he wasn't going to go easy on the spider, knowing the little things that would be too tempting to pass up.

Claude did not protest, of course...seeing such a beautiful man as Sebastian Michaelis prostrating himself in such a way...trying to seduce him.

"You've really gone all out today, sweetheart," he commented. The flash of white skin over his thigh...the sleek boots, the tight dress he had lovingly crafted clinging to his figure perfectly...

Claude swallowed, feeling a little warm on the inside as he stepped into the room. Oh, this was too much. And how nicely the makeup accentuated Sebastian's dark eyes.

"Have I done something to deserve such a spoil?"

"Must I have a reason to surprise my lover with something I know he'll appreciate?" He asked, a hint of a moan in his voice as he shifted his bare leg up to further display his body. His fingers and the rose thorns caressing along his inner thigh and over his groin.

Claude watched as the thorns scratched at the milky skin, little beads of blood welling up. He shook his head, still smirking.

"Like I told you...no matter what, you'll look beautiful to me...even if you were wearing a potato sack instead, Sebastian." He joined him, almost tentatively touching the thigh-high boot. He shifted out of his jacket, and removed the band from his hair, letting it spill down his back silkily. Golden eyes glinted. "But this..." He grinned.

"…is better than a potato sack?" He smirked, pressing up against the other demon, his fingers trailing over his jaw and neck, moving down to his shirt buttons. His lips brushing over his ear.

"Much, much better," the demon smirked, going still as Sebastian undid some of his buttons. "Are you going to give me a show? After all...half the fun is watching you take those clothes off," he purred.

"Perhaps…" he pinched open a few more buttons and trailed his lips down his chest, "After you are ready, of course." His tongue flickered out over his nipple.

"Oh, I understand...you wish to get me all hot and bothered...then tease me...how very like you, Malphas." He ran a hand through the man's hair, leaning in to his lips. "Ah...gloss," he commented. "Cherry. It suits you." He ran his hand over the man's hip, then shrugged out of his top.

"I'm simply seeing to your needs first, my love." He hummed, moving to straddle his lap as his hands teased along the waist of his pants and then moved to unbutton them, his hand sliding in to caress over his hardened length, "I wouldn't want you to be disappointed when we finish."

"Disappointed? With you?" Claude murmured. "Impossible." He slid out of the pants, now in just his boxers, and tossed his glasses aside too. The touch to his length made him moan softly in anticipation.

"When was the last time we have gotten to take our time getting to the main attraction?" the crow nearly cooed, "Why waste this chance?" he rolled his hips, grinding sensually against Claude before pushing his boxers down to expose his length.

Claude closed his eyes as Sebastian exposed his endowment, and the dark carpet to match the drapes. He ran his long fingers over his length and up his torso, over his nipple and up to rest behind neck, a devilish smile crossing his face. His eyes flashed. "Why, indeed..."

Sebastian slid down his lover's body, running his hands along his form and pressing his glossy lips to the end of his member, coaxing the tip between them and flicking his tongue sliding around it teasingly.

Claude groaned, holding his shoulders. "You look so good," he breathed. "And I liked that dress...if you don't wish for me to tear it from you, you'd better strip. Nice and slow," he said silkily, shifting his hips towards Sebastian.

Sebastian didn't respond at first, humming as he took his lover deeper into his mouth, wanting to coax out a small sound. His teeth scraping lightly along from base to tip.

Claude realized Sebastian was definitely insistent on seducing him. That wouldn't be too difficult really. He exhaled slowly, arching as Sebastian's lips and teeth ran over the entire length of his erection, and he moaned instantly. "Oh, sh...nhnhn, Sebastian, you little tease."

Satisfied with Claude's reaction, Sebastian took him in a few more times before pulling back and gracefully (Though not as graceful as he used to be) getting to his feet, taking a few steps back before he began to strip, his hips swaying ever so slightly as he snapped open his buttons along the back of his dress, turning around so his lover could watch as a tight corset was slowly revealed. He slipped his top off and tossed it to the side before swaying over to his lover again, lifting a boot-clad leg up and resting his foot near Claude's head as he began to untie his boot, slowly pulling he laces to undo the bow.

Claude licked his lips as Sebastian removed the top half of his dress, revealing the corset. He smirked a little. Even a corset, now? I hope you're not getting any ideas to fill that corset, you know...as much as I appreciate the cross-dressing…" That damnable skirt shielded Sebastian's groin from view, and surely the shadowed area yielded its own surprises. "I think you should leave the boots on for a while, too~"

"It's an under bust. No breasts are needed for such a thing. I am just finding I enjoy the tightness." Sebastian purred. He obliged and retied his boot, his hands caressing over his own body as he moved to his waist, pinching open the two buttons holding the silted skirt on. He backed up a step again and spun the skirt away from him with a ripple of fabric. Letting go of it and letting it flutter to the floor behind him. Under it, he was wearing tight black panties that did nothing to hide his erection.

"Of course you enjoy the tightness," Claude said with a grin, which widened as the skirt was removed, showing the panties. _This_ was more like it. "Like this, that lingerie barely fits, it seems," he teased, seeing the way the fabric strained against his erection. He let out a shuddering groan. Sebastian was just overwhelming him. He sunk back against the couch, his hand slipping to his cock, giving it a squeeze and a slow, gentle stroke, his dark hair draping over his shoulders.

"Strange, it fit before." He teased, sliding his sharp nail over the strained fabric on his hip, cutting it loose and letting the black panties fall down his legs, kicking it off his foot before moving onto the Méridienne and crawling over his lover, "Touching yourself already, Cimeries?"

"Take it as a compliment, Malphas," Claude mewed, releasing his length now that Sebastian was on top of him. His hands swathed Sebastian's body keenly, running over his backside. "I would have liked more time to admire them, actually...maybe I should give you some lessons in strip-teasing. I think you'd like that."

He felt precum beading at his tip, and he took a little onto his fingers, offering it to his prince.

"You asked to keep the boots. You didn't with the panties." He purred, wrapping his hand around both of their lengths and stroking them together.

Claude's eyes narrowed a little, and he wiped the substance onto his cheek instead. "Such an attitude. For a submissive like you, your response should be an apology...and then you should take what is offered to you." He rolled them over so he was on top of Sebastian, and he took the rose, dragging its thorns over the man's chest.

Sebastian let out a groan, his crimson eyes closing at the sensation of thorns scratching across his skin, "Or what? You'll punish me?" he whispered huskily, still stroking their lengths together.

Claude frowned further. "Yes," he replied, letting the thorn run deeply into his chest—a long cut vertically, and then another, laterally, to form a cross. He smirked as the burning began. "You have to be punished for your mistakes, Prince Malphas.

A loud yet airy gasp escaped Sebastian, his breathing growing ragged as the burning began to go deeper into his skin. It almost didn't seem…'fair' that holy things could still hurt him when everything else about him seemed so human. His eyes snapped open and gazed up at the Mage.

"So," whispered Claude, meeting his gaze, "are you sorry, darling?" Of course, Elijah's little stunt today had inspired him to do such a thing now...a punishment that wasn't overtly violent, but would hurt a lot.

"Yes…" he paused to bite back a gasp, "I'm sorry, Cimeries…I'll—accept what's offered." Sebastian bit his lip, luckily, the thorns hadn't cut too deeply, and he'd be able to ignore the burning pain once his mind was on other things.

"Good boy. Then we may continue." He leaned in, licking up Sebastian's blood keenly, and taking one leather-clad leg and draping it over his shoulder, licking that too. "Mmmnn..." He rubbed against him a little harder, upping the friction between them.

The crow aloud himself to moan again, a little louder. Though he couldn't feel it when his boot was licked, the sight of Claude using his long, talented tongue excited him. He ran his fingers along Claude's abs, his nails digging in almost enough to draw blood, leaving behind thin pink lines.

"I ever mention how alluring you are in heels?" the demon whispered, digging his own black nails along the inside of the man's thighs, joining the rose scratches, then giving his entrance a bold prod, spreading his legs a little wider.

"Ever—Ahh!" his response forgotten, Sebastian gasped loudly, his back stiffening in a slight arch. His black nails digging into his lover's knees, causing blood to pool at his fingertips.

"What's on your mind for tonight?" asked the spider demon, trailing considerable amounts of webbing over the man's thighs, letting his aura of arousal seep through to become a visible, red glow.

"You, me, a kink or two…My goal was to tempt you to me, and it worked…" he groaned, pausing to nibble along his jaw, "Now I plan to enjoy you to the fullest…"

"Oh, that does all sound rather delectable." He prodded at him again, then started to stroke the man's length. "Tempt me a little further, why don't you?"

Sebastian shivered, holding back his gasp. He ran his hands up Claude's body and grabbed his shoulders, pulling himself up as he slowly ran his tongue over his lover's neck and collarbone, "Ahn-ahh…" he purposely made lewd moans and gasps as he tasted his lover's skin.

Claude shuddered pleasurably, tempted to play with himself again...but that was Sebastian's job. "Do you know of any attire you would find particularly erotic for me to wear?" he whispered, baring his throat to the man.

"…You want…mmn…to take the…time to dress?" Sebastian inquired as he lavished his lover's skin with his tongue and lips, "Do you have…anything tight, revealing, and possibly…leather?" he rolled his hips, grinding against him, his fingers curling in his long dark hair, using it to pull him closer yet.

"Not tonight...but another night...if I'm to show you how to striptease, I will need some appropriate attire," the man purred, groaning as Sebastian pulled his hair—he'd grown to love the sensation. "I can even make it, if you have something particular in mind."

"We'll design something for you later, Love, but for now…" With a growl, he racked his nails down his back as he parted his lips around his lover's fingers to wet them. His free hand moving down to stroke his length.

"Yes, for now…" Claude said impatiently, a gasp breaking his lips as Sebastian scratched his back and sucked on his fingers. "Hngh...Fuck." He rocked his hips a little, pushing his fingers further into Sebastian's mouth.

Sebastian's tongue slid over the digits, covering them in a healthy coat of saliva, his hand on Claude's shaft pumping faster. After a moment he pulled back from his lover's fingers with a wet pop. "Claude…please…" he pleaded breathlessly.

"I know, sweet," Claude whispered, pressing the wet fingers back to Sebastian's entrance. There was less restriction now that his fingers were wet, and he pushed them both straight inside him. "M-mh...that feels nice," he murmured, wiggling the fingers around slowly and scissoring them to ease the way inside.

The crow moaned out and pressed back onto the fingers. Resisting the urge to ride them, attempting to await for something better. Groaning in need, he bit down on Claude's collarbone, sucking and making what promised to be a love bite.

Claude exhaled contentedly. "Hn...marking your t-territory again, Malphas? I thought you'd already done a good enough job of that..." He touched the man's sigil, visible as ever on his chest. It showed up even more when his skin was as flushed as it was now. He wondered if Sebastian was up to this, after his attack. He didn't ask though—Sebastian seemed confident that he was. He would spare him his dignity, pressing his fingers further inside him.

"Nngh…" Sebastian pulled back to look at him, cheeks supporting a healthy blush, "Just…tasting you while…hh…you prepare." He then locked his lips with his lover's, nipping at his lower lip.

Claude kissed him fiercely, digging his fingers even deeper inside him. "I think that will do for now," he replied. He removed Sebastian's hand from his length, laying over him and pressing the head of his erection to his entrance.

Sebastian spread his legs further apart and hooked them on either side of Claude's hips. He wet his lips in anticipation, and moved his hands around his lover's neck, shifting his weight to press down against his member. Causing him to press in ever-so-slightly.

Claude smirked down at him. "You look good with makeup," he commented as he nudged himself inside. "A-ah..." He was impatient, and pushed in a little harder, eager to start the stimulation.

"You look even sexier from this angle…" the crow moaned in response, his nails digging into the flesh under his fingertips. He was incredibly fond of how the demon's long hair fell around his face when he looked down on him. It drew attention to his golden eyes, which in times like this, held more emotion than he thought the spider was aware of.

Claude swallowed, blinking slowly, then took him by the hips and slid deeper inside. "There...ah, there…" he murmured, rocking his hips upwards, feeling his length press into Sebastian's walls. He pulled him down onto his cock just a little further. "Is that okay?"

Sebastian allowed a long moan to escape, his eyes closing, "O-of course…"

Why was Claude asking? He never asked such questions before. He'd just go at him, pounding into him however he saw fit during the moment. Was it because he had had another attack earlier that day? Had it shaken Claude that much to find that Fames had made itself known once more?

"…I'm not a virgin, Cimeries. I won't break." He teased.

Claude had caught Sebastian's momentary hesitation—and Sebastian had caught his slip-up. He couldn't help but want to treat him like porcelain again.

"You don't have to be a virgin for me to break you, dear," the demon responded, his dark locks spilling over Sebastian's chest, tickling lightly.

The banished prince reached up to run his fingers through Claude's dark hair, "I appreciate the thought, Love, but its okay to let go. If I start to break I'll tell you…" his lips turned upwards as he added a flirtier ending to his statement; "But you are welcome to try and get me to that point.

"Shh...you don't need to talk now," Claude whispered, giving him a tentative push with his hips, drawing out, then doing it again. He began to move faster and more confidently within him, sharp nails digging into his skin, shallow breaths becoming pants.

"Ahh-uhn…" The crow stretched out, his eyes closing once more. It may have been Claude's worry about hurting him, but it felt so unexpectedly…intimate and gentle…romantic, rather than their usually hot, passionate, fetish-filled romps they have had before. It didn't matter really, it felt just as good, and he was sharing it with his lover.

As the spider demon moved faster within him, his moans grew louder, Claude's name upon his parted lips. He dragged his nails along his lover's skin, up his sides and down his back, his own hips rolling to meet with Claude's movements.

Claude breathed harder. He...really was taking it easy with his partner, without even thinking about it. Right now...it just _felt_ natural to move a little more slowly, a little more deeply, a little more deliberately within him. His scratches were more affectionate than intending to spill that precious blood. Making love...wasn't it? He almost smiled at the thought. "Hn...nh...ngh.." For some reason, the sound of their hearts beating in time was more noticeable than almost anything as they drew pleasure from each other, bringing each other up to climax.

It wasn't long before Sebastian lost himself in the gentle pleasure, and as he felt his climax approaching, rather than letting a scream rip from his lips, he found himself purring as he crushed his lips into his lover's, his arms hooked around his neck, and his moans muffled, even as his limit was breached and his body stiffened while he spilled out between them, "Mhhh!"

Claude's length rubbed deeply over his sweet spot, again and again, until he brought his lover to a slow and blissful climax. "A-ah.. Sebastian...Malphas... _Ah_!" He came as well, spilling his seed deep inside Sebastian with a low, pleasurable moan, kissing him still. When he was done, he extracted himself and lay against him, his arms sliding around the man.

Sebastian settled under Claude, panting slightly and playing with a lock of long hair, he gave a small, happy sigh, "I love you, Claude." He whispered without a second thought. The corners of his lips twitched upwards and he closed his eyes. He could fall asleep right there with Claude. He could care less that they were still in the music room, or that he was still in a corset, leather boots, and a few other feminine items he had put on.

"I...love you," Claude responded, letting his body go limp against Sebastian's. "No doubt about that." When he had a little strength back, he slowly untied the back of the man's corset for him.

Sebastian hummed softly, "Shall we go back to our room, or are we going to spend the night here in the music room?" he asked, shifting to accommodate his lover in his task of removing the corset.

"Room..." Claude murmured, suddenly feeling so tired and drained of energy. "I require sleep." He managed to wiggle into his boxers, then trudged off rather ungracefully to his bedroom. His interest in Sebastian had dropped in favour of a nice long sleep to regain his power after all the exertion.

Sebastian followed close behind, not bothering to pick up the clothes scattered across the floor. He peeled off his boots and stockings, followed by the choker and hair piece before he slipped into the bed next to his lover, fully in need of a good-night's sleep.

Claude was practically asleep by the time Sebastian had finished peeling off his shoes. He dropped right off, sleeping rather spread out on the bed, as he often ended up, and all was peaceful for a few hours before there was the sound of the door opening, and their son stumbled into their bedroom. "Padres! Oi did it! Got ssshhhit-faced, I did~!"

Claude groaned a little, hearing the sound of shoes hitting the floor before Elijah slumped down into their bed. "Fuck."

Sebastian groaned at the loud announcement, with how his body and mind both tried to cling to sleep, he knew it was too early to have to get up. He forced himself to roll over, opening one eye, smudged with the makeup he forgot to wash off, and looked at Elijah, "…Good for you, now be quiet. We're trying to sleep."

"Go to bed," Claude sniped. "You reek of sex."

"Ssssooo do you," the drunken teenager informed them, and that was all that had to be said. He promptly snuggled up between them. It was normal for demons to sleep in harem-like nests, despite how the three of them usually adhered to British social norms, so they let it slide when it happened, usually.

"Go to sleep, Elijah, you're drunk. Sleep helps sober demons on the chance they actually get drunk…" Sebastian mumbled into his pillow, pulling the blankets back up over his shoulders.

The family of three drifted off to sleep quickly, each needing the rest.

* * *

To be continued...


	37. Chapter 37

The next day proceeded in quite a similar manner. Sebastian handled breakfast, Claude handled lunch, Elijah handled dinner, though this was all interchangeable. Claude went to the river to fish for salmon. Fishing was a pastime he'd come to enjoy of late. Sebastian had gone horse riding again, and Elijah spent the day switching between studying the natural world and practicing wing chun, one of many martial art styles he had learned under the instruction of his fathers.

Claude's trip to the Undertaker yielded the result that the fruit of the Snowburst plant would definitely be ripe in time for harvest at the Equinox, not very far away. When he got home, he made love to Sebastian again while Elijah was out, then the youth returned to prepare dinner, though he had kept a spare serving in the kitchen. That night they had a guest.

Sebastian moved into the dinning room and lifted an eyebrow. The table was already set for dinner, which wasn't surprising, but it was set to look like more of a fancy dinner. A flower arrangement adorned the center of the table atop a nicer tablecloth that was normally used. The fine china was placed out, and wine glasses were set. "Is tonight a special occasion, Elijah?" he asked.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I simply desire to put out nicer china tonight?" he questioned with a mischievous smile. It wouldn't be long now.

"What did you do? Did you get in trouble somewhere?" he asked. Last time the boy had treated his parents to a fancy dinner, Elijah had done something that had caused them some trouble with some neighbors when they still lived in the Trancy Estate.

Elijah shook his head. "No, I've been a good boy," he told his father, leaning in to peck his cheek then headed back into the kitchen. "Dinner will be served in just a minute. Please inform Claude."

"Claude is informed," responded the spider demon as he entered the dining room.

The crow chuckled and took his seat. He had been working on his strength training for a couple of hours and felt quite eager for a meal. "Think something's going on with Elijah?" he asked Claude, holding up a fine silver fork from the set even he never used for a weapon.

Something that had never changed between Sebastian and Claude was their preference for cutlery. Claude only used gold cutlery, while Sebastian used silver. They refused to change at all. Claude toyed at a golden knife. "Yes," he replied as the boy brought out their plates of food. "We'll soon find out."

Elijah set out each plate, with a smile, setting his own down and discreetly glancing at the clock as he took his seat.

Any second, now…

"I hope you enjoy dinner, I tried something new with this dish….added some extra seasonings to the Chicken."

Claude was about to sit down when suddenly there came a knock at the door. His citrine eyes flicked to Elijah and he straightened up. "Visitors, out here, at this time of night?" he said silkily, flexing some webbing over his fingers."Who would like to answer it? You perhaps, Avnas?"

The teenager only flashed his father a grin and he got up, hurrying to answer the door.

"He seems so eager…" Sebastian commented, watching their son disappear down the Hall.

Claude nodded. "A guest, hm..."

The door opened to reveal a youth a little shorter than Elijah, with shocking red hair and freckles to match. He wore a flannel shirt with a black tee underneath and matching cargo pants. The imprint of a redwood rosary was barely visible beneath the shirts.

This youth glanced up from behind his green-framed glasses and flashed Elijah a sunny smile. " 'Ello," he said brightly. "Not late, am I?"

"We barely sat down to dinner, Come in." The demon smiled, slipping his arm around his shoulders and guiding him into the house before closing the door, "I'm sure my fathers are now expecting you. Let's go introduce you, and then I'll go get you a plate."

Claude had stood up, leaning against his chair. "It seems we have a reaper with us," he said under his breath.

The reaper, whose name was Micah Hunter, exhaled slowly as he wiped his feet and entered the extravagant house.

"'M s'nervous," he said under his breath, stepping inside timidly and going where Elijah guided him.

"Don't be. And if they over-react, just hide behind me. I doubt it'd be a problem, though. Their relationship is far from traditional, as well….In through here." he gestured to the open door to the dinning room, allowing the reaper to enter first. He followed close, beaming at his parents who were both staring, "Michah, these are my fathers, Claude Faustus, and Sebastian Michaelis. Fathers, this is Micah Hunter…my lover."

Sebastian blinked a few times, Elijah had taken a lover? A real lover? Usually he'd have a one-to-two night stands with people and then he'd be done with them… "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Hunter. Things must be serious between you two. Our son has never brought home someone to meet us before." He said with a polite smile, though he was somewhat suspicious of the reaper, as he _was_ a reaper.

Micah gave a nervous smile in response, barely able to maintain eye contact with Sebastian's cool red (and from what he'd heard, royal) gaze.

"'S'a pleasure t-to meet ya, Mister Michaelis, Mister Faustus." He rocked on his heels. Claude didn't have a gaze any friendlier, and shaking his hand was out of the question- he looked to be holding spiders. Micah didn't even like spiders. "It's an honour to be 'ere, uh.." He glanced at Elijah helplessly. They could kill him in seconds. He knew that.

Elijah gave him a soft smile, giving his shoulder a fond squeeze, "I'll be back in just a second, don't look so nervous." He whispered, giving the reaper a kiss on the temple before hurrying to get the fourth plate of food.

Sebastian gestured to the hardly used fourth chair at the dinning table, "Have a seat," he said, keeping up his civility. "and tell us, how did you meet our son…reaper?"

Micah stiffened when Elijah left them alone—the demons had an unexpectedly fearsome aura.

He stalked over and sat down at the offered seat. "Met Elijah at a t-tavern. I was jus' 'avin' a drink, an' 'e came up t'me an' started bein' all..." He smiled a little. "Well, 'e wasn't subtle. Thought he was off 'is face, I did, cause…y'know...guys don't really 'it on other guys in public down in this realm..."

"I see." Sebastian crossed his arms, eyeing the young reaper.

Elijah returned and set the plate down for Micah before taking his seat, smiling at his fathers. He just couldn't help but feel so happy when around the reaper. His heart felt so light and warm…

The Irishman felt a little nauseous. Usually he got along with other people so well. Even William wasn't as icy as this.

"So...you're clearly from Ireland," Claude said, finally speaking up. He rested his hand on the table and a spider crawled out. Micah fidgeted.

"Y-yup. Born 'n bred," he squeaked.

Elijah sighed and reached over to gently take the spider as it crawled towards Micah, moving it over onto Sebastian's shoulder in a silent protest against swarming his boyfriend with the creatures, "Can you two not be so intimidating?"

The spider ran into Sebastian's hair. At this point, the arachnids barely bothered the prince. He was more than used to them.

Micah coughed. "Ey, I'm not intimidated, don't you worry," he said with a shaky smile. And how they had called him 'reaper'. He had a name. He was clearly being judged for his race, in this situation.

"I'm simply being…cautious." Sebastian said, "Reapers don't like us…Undertaker aside." He looked at Micah, "Us demon's are only 'thieves', after all, right? Never mind the fact that we must eat souls to survive. It makes me question your involvement with our son. You have to know he's a demon, after all. Reaper's aren't stupid."

The youth rested his freckled hands on the table. "I'm not a reaper," he said simply. "Jus' a shinigami. I never reaped a soul in me 'ole life. An'..." He glanced at Elijah from under red lashes. "I jus'...I don't judge, y'know? People do what they gotta to survive...an' salvation is always available if yer truly willin'."

"If you mean 'salvation' by looking to God for forgiveness…there is no grace for those who were born to be damned…" Sebastian reached over to grab Elijah's wrist to show his burned hands, "This is what happens if we try."

"Father, please…" Elijah pulled his hand back, "He doesn't care that we are demons…and I don't care that he's a shinigami."

Micah's eyebrows drew together. "You should know then, that your son doesn't burn when he touches me." He reached inside his shirt and pulled out the rosary beads he never took off. "For those who're truly willin', like I said..you can 'ave salvation."

Claude leaned on his elbow, looking rather interested by this.

"I've touched angels before and haven't burned by the touch." Sebastian shrugged, "But God isn't the only form of salvation. We can create our own." He turned back to his plate, "Go ahead and eat. This is supposed to be dinner."

Micah stowed the rosary. "Thanks. It looks really nice," he said in a softer tone than usual. Under the table, his leg brushed against Elijah's, seeking comfort from him. Elijah didn't need his parents permission to do what he wanted. If he wanted to lead a different life, that was his choice. He wasn't even bound by royal responsibilities, since the poor thing had been labeled an abomination.

Forgoing the grace, he happily munched down his food. Claude seemed to have given his approval at this point, his attitude towards the Irishman improving bit by bit. A shinigami who didn't reap...he hadn't met many of them, and he wondered why he didn't.

Elijah reached under the table, squeezing his lover's knee. He knew that his parents might have been giving Micah a hard time, but they wouldn't make him break things off with the Irishman. It's why he hadn't had a problem with Micah meeting his parents in the first place.

"So, what do you do if you don't work collections?" Sebastian asked in a more curious voice once everyone had started eating.

Micah looked up from his lemon-herb chicken. "'m a nurse," he replied. "At the 'ospital in the London City o' Reapers." He crossed his legs, making a conscious effort to be more refined with the way he ate in front of these clearly very sophisticated demons. "'s nicer to save lives rather than take 'em away, it is." He smiled again.

"I can respect that." Sebastian said, truthfully. With his illness and with how close they were to his cure, he had gained an incredible respect to anyone involved in the medical field.

Claude, as a medical class demon himself, was also very approving of this. He glanced at Sebastian for a second, nodding briefly as if to say that this chirpy little redhead was an acceptable first lover for their son, even if he was a shinigami. Claude had had relations with a shinigami once, so it would be hypocritical to judge Elijah for that.

Micah ate quickly though, feeling their eyes fixed on him, feeling pinned, despite their grudging tolerance. He thanked them all once again when he'd finished.

"So do you two have plans for the rest of the evening?" Sebastian asked, gathering the dishes to be cleaned, "Or had you only wished for us to meet?"

Micah stood up, still hovering rather close to Elijah. He couldn't help but feel intimidated. They were so, so much older than he was. "...What do you think, Eli?" he asked, helping gather the dishes.

"You know I won't turn down an evening with you if you don't have to work." Elijah smiled, "If not tonight, then there's always tomorrow night."

"Just be responsible…no coming home drunk in the early morning waking us up again." The crow stood up and picked up the plates, turning to carry them into the next room for cleaning.

"Father, would you like help?"

"I'm perfectly capable." Sebastian responded, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

Micah knew all about Sebastian's illness, as well. Elijah had been quite distraught about what had happened to his father, and Micah had heard all about it over a few bottles of top-grade whiskey. He said nothing about it.

"Could use a cig, a'least," he said with a soft smile to Elijah. "Got a back deck?" He thanked the two demons once more and left with Elijah.

Sebastian started on the dishes after they had left, "I rather like him." he said, glancing at Claude, "Though I'm surprised Elijah would bring anyone home to meet us so soon."

"Let's look at what we know about him," Claude responded, adjusting his glasses. "Elijah loves drinking, and that kid is a posterchild for Irish stereotypes. He's a shinigami who doesn't take souls, he's a medic, therefore handy if, say, someone like you fell ill suddenly. And he's a little altar boy at the same time, when we know Elijah has always had that...desire for salvation. On top of that they're similar ages, and clearly both interested in men. From Elijah's point of view, Mr. Hunter must seem like a prime choice of lovers, wouldn't you think?"

"Quite the ideal partner for him, they seem to get along wonderfully as well. However, do you think he could have inspired Elijah to prey like he had when I had my attack? I don't like him burning himself."

"No. Remember a few years back, Elijah used to keep saying he was going to help make God love us? He's prayed before. But...he must be giving him hope, too..." Claude just wondered whether or not it was false.

Micah leaned out against the balcony, breathing in deeply from his cigarette. "You look good tonight, Eli," he said, giving him a soft smile and reaching for his hand. His own was still a bit clammy from all the fretting he'd done under Elijah's parents' gaze.

Elijah smiled and took his hand, stepping in behind him and wrapping his arms around him, "Dinner with my parents wasn't that bad, was it?" he smirked, feeling his hands.

The shinigami breathed in slowly, and gently relaxed against Elijah, looking out over the countryside.

He'd originally been so cautious with Elijah. They barely knew each other, but when they knew each other biblically, and Elijah had drunkenly confided all his deepest fears to the innocent young Irishman, things seemed to be different after that. Elijah needed someone to be there for him in a way that his fathers couldn't.

Micah had faith that Elijah was not leading him into a trap, when he asked to come around for dinner tonight. "'m not missin' any limbs, so...yeah, that wasn't as bad as it coulda been," he said, breathing out a cloud of cigarette smoke.

"I think they like you…in their own way." He muttered. He could read his parents a little better than he thought they would give him credit for. He was sure Claude had accepted the shinigami sooner than Sebastian, but the fact that Micah was a nurse had won them both over, even if they hardly changed their colder act through the meal.

"Well...'m not sure I understand their way, but...tha's okay with me." He turned, nuzzling the young man's cheeks. Some part of him still felt it was odd. Elijah wasn't three years old, but he appeared 18, and his mental growth far succeeded even that. It was amazing. He'd never seen anything like it...and the demon fascinated him. Even if some part of him said he was merely to be used and discarded. He nudged his lips up against Elijah's softly, and in all honesty he'd never tasted a sweeter pair.

Elijah pressed into the kiss, his hand moving to cup the other's cheek as he drew him closer, tasting his lips and tongue, taking in his sweet smell. It was strange. Micah made him feel as if he never had truly understood how his fathers had both felt for each other…and that he understood more now…now that he was with the shinigami. He didn't know how long it would last between them, but it felt real.

The redhead moaned softly into the kiss. "Mm..." He offered him a bright smile, putting his arms around him in turn. The rosary was pressed between them, but Elijah wouldn't be hurt by it. Not a lot.

"I should get goin'," he whispered against his lips. "Wouldn't wanna overstay my welcome, or nothin'." Then he added in Gaelic, " _I'm really lookin' forward to seein' you again_..."

"You know where to find me," he smiled, giving him another kiss before taking his hand to lead him to the front door again, "Unless I can come with you." He teased.

Micah could scarcely bring himself to tear his gaze from Elijah's. Both his fathers had exquisite eye colors, and Elijahs was such a beautiful, bright blend between the two. "What we did..." he said a little shyly. "Real good time, that...I say, if yer up for it...maybe I'll see ya at the tavern again on Thursday." He blushed a little as he said it. "Y'know…i-if you'd like.."

"It's a date. You needn't be shy about it." He opened the door for him, his hand sliding across Micah's lower back as he did so, "I'll see you on Thursday."

The redhead swallowed, and nodded, flushing prettily. "Got it…seeya, Eli," he said with an excited smile, leaning in to give him a quick goodbye kiss before heading off down the footpath, walking backwards and waving as he did so.

Elijah waved, watching until the Irishman was out of sight. He then quietly closed the door and headed back towards the kitchen to see if there were any dishes left to do.

Claude had already taken care of the dishes by the time Elijah came back.

"Well..." he said, wiping his hands as his son entered the kitchen, "that was eventful."

"You approve, right?" he asked, looking between his fathers. He wouldn't stop seeing Micah, but, it was a nice idea to know that his parents would accept the shinigami.

"Does it matter if we do or not?" Sebastian asked as he finished putting away the good silver.

"No…just…do you?"

Claude started preparing a dessert. "...He seems very naive. And a little stupid, to so willingly enter a relationship with the arch-enemy of the shinigami species. Nonetheless...he seems like a good boy, and his heart's in the right place. I approve," he said a little grudgingly, turning away from him.

Elijah then turned his gaze on Sebastian, who leaned against the counter to look at him.

"We both give our blessing on your relationship. Just be careful, that's all I ask. If his kin find out about the two of you, they will be after you, probably assuming you know some secret or two about the reaper society."

The teen nodded, grinning, "Thank you, Fathers!" he moved to hug both demons.

Claude returned it stiffly. "You're set to start another language up soon, and you know we expect you to learn all the tongues of the United Kingdom. Why not start with Gaelic? Surely the little leprechaun speaks it if he was born there. He might like it if you learned."

"He's taught me a few things already. Not much, but a little." He admitted, "I was thinking of learning it fully in my own time when I'm not busy with other things."

"There is not many left you need to learn. Just don't rush your studies." Sebastian cautioned.

Claude sighed, looking at Elijah. "So young, and yet already having taken a lover. How fast you're growing," he commented in a flat tone that did not reflect his inner nostalgia. He stepped forward, petting the boy's hair.

Elijah hadn't had nightmares from the day the last triplet had perished. The enuresis had stopped over a year ago, along with his habit of biting fingers in his sleep. Sometimes Claude felt as if Elijah was growing too fast for them to keep up with to still know their son well. It made him a little disheartened, at times.

"I'm not that young, Father." He countered, "Not for a demon."

"Says the teenager who slept between his parents last night. I woke up to you using my arm like your old favorite stuffed toy. Which you still keep in your own bed, I noticed." Sebastian pointed out, causing Elijah to blush.

Claude almost smiled as he remembered the way Elijah used to cling to Sebastian's arm. "Well, I made it for him myself, so I would hope that he kept it," he replied in Elijah's defense. "You know you're still welcome to sleep with us. We do not care."

"I'm just saying there is nothing wrong with being young. You'll always be our little boy…our son, no matter how fast time flies by." Sebastian kissed the boy's temple. "You'll soon stop ageing completely and if you still—once in a while—join us in bed and snuggle up with us or your toys, then I won't complain."

"Say that again next time I walk in on you two going at it and I hop into the bed with you." Elijah smirked.

Claude ruffled the young man's hair. "Why, then you might pick up a few tricks," he teased, leaving a spider in his hair. He stood beside Sebastian, a hand moving to his waist, and he kissed the man gently on the ear.

"You know we aren't shy about our privet activities now that you are old enough to know and take part in such things. And with the amount of times you have stopped us from enjoying each other's bodies, I have no problem with ignoring that you are in the room. It's up to you as to how comfortable you are with watching your parents do the things we did when we _created_ you."

Elijah flashed them a grin. "Why just watch? I'm sure I'd have fun with you~" He winked, then headed out of the kitchen to proceed with his studies for the night. He'd end it with some relaxing tai chi, maybe a spa-bath, and then he had the choice of his parent's bed or his own. That night though, after seeing Micah...maybe some private time _was_ needed.

Claude clicked his tongue and continued making dessert, undeterred.

"How did we raise a son who would consider joining us in sexual activities?" Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle. Among demons, it wasn't unheard of for siblings to share their lust, but Elijah was an only child. It really didn't surprise Sebastian that rather than experimenting with non-existent siblings, that he'd have some temptation to do so with his parents. But from the human social norm in the world they called home, it was forbidden for incest of any sort.

Claude shrugged a little. "Well, nobody ever told him it wasn't accepted, I suppose. All he sees is another form of entertainment."

The 'taboo' aspect of incest in the human realm simply hadn't been imbued in their demon son. Claude hadn't been indisposed to the idea either, with the siblings he'd grown up with. It was to be expected that Elijah simply didn't care.

"But my statement still stands...he is to learn it the hard way," said Claude, cracking some eggs into a bowl. "At least he has a plaything now."

"If they get really serious, he'll have no interest in sleeping around anymore, anyway…" Sebastian slipped behind his lover, nipping at his ear, "He'll have the best satisfaction for him already."

Claude smirked a little at the nip. Although they'd already made love that day...Claude would definitely be up to fool around some more. He turned to his partner, setting the man up on the kitchen bench and leaning in for a kiss. "Not 'the best'...that title goes to you."

"I would have given it to you, but I'll accept." He smirked, tugging his hair out of his ponytail and running his fingers through it.

Claude closed his eyes and smiled a little. "I should forego the dessert, if you're getting rowdy, Sebastian...you're certainly tempting me." He wiped a little cake batter over Sebastian's neck, and promptly licked it back up.

"Or, you can take your dessert on me." Sebastian smiled, dipping a finger into the batter and offering it to his lover.

Claude willingly took the offering. "Even more tempting..." He sucked his finger, running his tongue over it before letting it go with a little 'pop'. "But I will pass, tonight...see, I think we'll have the bed to ourselves tonight...we might as well make the most of it then, yes?"

"I suppose so." He smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips, "I'll make up the icing as you bake the cake."

That night, after everybody was finally asleep in bed, there was one pair of eyes still open, and those were Claude's. He found he couldn't sleep at all...he'd found the act difficult of late, as they got closer to the equinox.

He slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Sebastian, and headed out to their garden. He sat under a roof, watching the moonlight glint over the birdbath that was so busy during the day, but so empty at night.

If this cure didn't work...Sebastian would continue to ail and have attacks, and he could simply drop dead any day when that happened. If it did...then Sebastian would be cured...and what then with their lives?

Stay together in this house, like humans...stop taking masters? Starve? Would Elijah eventually move out, leaving them with the punishment for his birth, for eternity?

Claude was frightened, either way...in ways he hadn't been in a long, long time.

* * *

To be continued...


	38. Chapter 38

A few weeks before the Winter Equinox, the plant had finally reached full maturity and it was no longer dire that Claude preserve his powers to feed the rare little plant. Therefore, he was finally able to unlock Sebastian's powers again.

It felt good for the crow demon to have his full powers back once more. He felt much more like himself and he held more control over his body; gaining back his grace and strength. However, having his powers unlocked once more seemed to only make his attacks more frequent. It truly began to frighten him. Each attack was more violent and tolling. It got to the point that on days he had an attack, even if it was in the morning, he'd fall asleep for the rest of the day. Somehow, he knew that if the cure did not work, he'd not live to the point where he could contract with another soul. He'd have to steal again.

The day of the equinox finally arrived, and Sebastian awoke at noon, having had another attack only the day before. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes before shifting out to dress himself.

Things had been tense around the house. As if the knowledge of the equinox approaching wasn't stressful enough, Sebastian had fallen headfirst into a fierce and violent series of attacks that even having his powers back couldn't ease. Claude was fretting to the point that his scar had begun prickling again, and he was constantly irritable. Elijah, in turn, was torn between being at home to look after Sebastian, and out being consoled by the one person who would be there to console him—his sweet little Irishman.

The biggest fear now was that Sebastian wouldn't _live_ to see the equinox. Claude prayed to and cursed God all at the same time, unsure if he should blame him or beg him for help. He entered the bedroom with a breakfast for Sebastian, despite it being noon.

" _Malphas...you shouldn't be up so quickly...you might get dizzy, and fall down_." he said in the demonic tongue.

Sebastian looked up, "I'm tired of being in bed all the time. It makes it _feel_ like I'm dying, even if I'm not having an attack." He finished slipping on his pants and sat down on a cushioned bench as he slipped into his shirt and began to button it.

Claude nodded. "Come out onto the balcony, then. The fresh air will do you good, and you can have your breakfast."

He dropped his voice as he escorted his now-dressed lover outside into the warm spring air. "I have...something...that might give you strength…"

The crow's attention immediately snapped to his lover, his gaze glued to his handsome face and his grip on his arm growing a little tighter, "What is it?"

Claude sighed. "A soul," he said softly. "I need you to have your strength up, after all, and this is the best way I know how."

"Claude…It'd have to be stolen…isn't it bad enough you stole souls for me when I was pregnant…" Sebastian sat down on a stone bench and looked down, "I don't like having to take it unless I need to."

"I say you need it," Claude insisted, taking his wrist. "Tonight is the most important night, Sebastian. I can't risk it. Would you ever forgive yourself if you failed so close to your goal?"

With a small sigh, Sebastian bit his lip and looked away, "…You have a point…I…don't want all your work for all these years to have been for nothing…just because I was stubborn…"

Claude drew out the soul, holding it for his lover. "Take it. There isn't shame in this, love."

The crow reached out, taking the offered soul and watched it glow in his hand as he brought it to his lips, allowing himself a small hesitation before his lips parted and he coaxed it in with his tongue.

Claude watched as Sebastian took the soul. He didn't avert his eyes, because to do so would have made the act seem more shameful. "...See, that's nice isn't it," he said gently, stroking his hair reassuringly. "You feel better, yes?"

"I do." He gave a short nod, savoring the taste. It had been a random soul, he was sure, but for one unseasoned with contract, it was sweet, bordering on quality, "Thank you, Claude." He took his lover's hand and guided him down onto the bench next to him, "Whatever happens tonight…no…no, you'll succeed tonight. You'll cure me."

Claude nodded. "You don't need to say anything else," he said quietly. "No goodbyes, no apologies...just 'I love you'." He leaned Sebastian against him, kissing his cheek. "I have faith."

"I have faith in you too. This plant you have been growing…I'm positive that you are right in thinking it's what I need." He leaned over, resting his head gingerly on his shoulder, "I love you."

Claude was out for the most of the day after that. It felt awkward to simply sit around with Sebastian and talk about the night. He needed to keep his mind off it, and focus on the equally vital rest of the cure. His measurements of each ingredient needed were absolutely accurate. Elijah came in to enquire as he'd been crushing a snakes skull into the bowl, though Claude had sent him on his way very quickly so he could focus.

Sebastian tried to keep relaxed and stress-free throughout the day, keeping to the gardens or his favorite seat in the library, reading a few books. Elijah had brought him a meal around supper time, and sat down with him to eat it.

The boy had set Claude's meal on a table for him and left quickly after he had been sent out earlier, he didn't want to bother his father. He knew all too well that whatever happened that night was it. If anything went wrong, then they could loose Sebastian forever.

Claude had tried to eat a little, but the truth was he'd never been more nervous in his life. He'd never needed to save a life more precious than Sebastian's now, and if he lost it, that would be on him for eternity.

He eventually had to crawl out of his laboratory and down the hall to the nearest bathroom, where he was quite sick. It was all this waiting that had killed him for the last few days. As he knelt over the bowl, he wiped his damp forehead, then closed the lid and pressed the flush. He rested his head against the cool surface, breathing uneasily. He had to pull himself together.

Finally, the time for them to travel to the Undertaker's shop came, and the family of three grabbed their coats. Elijah insisted upon being there. He hadn't been able to help at all thus-far. But if anything, he could be there to…hold his father's hand…support them both as Sebastian took his cure.

They traveled quickly. Though still at a slowed pace as they didn't want Sebastian to strain himself getting there. Undertaker greeted them, already standing in the open doorway with a wide grin as they approached, "Ah, Just in time, hehe~"

Elijah stood faithfully beside Sebastian, as did Claude on the other side. In his hands, Claude held an ornate box that carried what had been prepared of the cure so far. Sebastian's blood had yet to be supplied, and the juice of the Snowburst fruit.

Claude bowed his head to the Undertaker. He was more than familiar with him after seeing him every day for over two years. "Let us be swift," he said.

The trip they took to the nearest spring took about an hour to reach. They had chosen this spring because it was a verified place of power, and under the light of the full moon, magical energies would be at their highest. It would allow Sebastian to have as much magical power and strength at his ability, as well as tuning in to nature, and it was absolutely crucial that he be in this sacred water for the spell.

Claude took in a deep breath, tasting the scent of the forest and the earth. There was a large oak tree beside the glittering pool that the spring flowed into. The water seemed to be about chest deep. A circle of small stones had already been placed around the pool by Claude a few days beforehand, so everything was ready.

Sebastian looked around, squeezing the hand of both his son and lover. He eyed the Undertaker as the reaper set down the jar of angel feathers out of which the plant grew. It's stem thin and vine-like, spindling up and around like the body of a leafless tree, small white flowers starting to open under the moonlight, looking almost like frost crystals. It's single fruit dangling on a single branch, looking like a frost-covered grape.

"Tell me what I have to do." The crow said in a soft voice. He hadn't been told anything other than to keep relaxed and alive until this moment.

Claude sighed. "You might like to strip your shirt off," he said softly, his golden eyes glinting in the moonlight. Elijah rocked nervously on his heels as Claude stepped over to the little fruit and, with the nod from the Undertaker, plucked the tiny little white grape from its stem. He examined it closely. This tiny little fruit, that they'd waited two years for, was vital for this ritual.

He held it as gently as possible as he walked over to the polished wooden box and opened the lid. Inside was a golden goblet filled with what would soon be the cure to Aeterna Fames...he hoped.

Sebastian nodded and shrugged out of his coat, handing it to his son before working to remove his vest and blouse. Laying each article of clothing over Elijah's arms, shivering in the cool evening air. He then stepped closer to his lover, watching him work as Elijah draped his discarded clothes over the low hanging branch of a nearby tree, not wanting them to fall onto the damp and slightly muddy ground.

Claude had placed the goblet atop the flat surface of a large rock. The Undertaker stood by watchfully, and Elijah by the tree branch. He knew the child, their demon child, was currently wearing a holy item underneath his clothes. Claude couldn't blame him now...it was a time of desperation.

The ex-Trancy butler looked up at Sebastian. "Half a liter of your blood will be required," he told him. "After that soul," he said, with a glance back at the mortician, "you should have strength enough." He handed him a blade.

Sebastian took the blade and stepped over to the goblet, pressing the blade firmly to his wrist. He grit his teeth as he quickly sliced the dagger into his skin, and watched the red liquid run down and pool up in his palm from the deep wound, "In the goblet, I assume?"

Claude wasn't in the spirit to even give him a blunt look, merely steadying the cup. When enough blood had been spilled, and Claude checked the measurements, he held up the tiny little grape-like fruit in a trembling hand, and crushed it. With bated breath, he observed the liquid dripping into the cup, and he made sure every last drop of it had been squeezed out before placing the empty skin down on the rock. The mixture had turned a cloudy white and started to glow.

The crow took a ragged breath as he watched the concoction—his cure—change colors. This was it. He'd drink the potion within the requirements for the ritual, and he'd be cured. He was sure of it. The only doubt or concern he allowed to wriggle into his mind was the fear that it'd taste worse than the potion Claude made to settle his attacks. It was possible, after all. As this one was a much more powerful potion.

The moon was shining at its very brightest; it was time. Claude's hand was still shaking as he handed it to Sebastian. "For the love of god, don't drop it," he whispered, adjusting his glasses. Elijah hurried over, giving Sebastian a careful hug. "I believe in you, father," he said a little tearfully.

Saying nothing, and firmly grasping the goblet, he kissed both spider demons' cheeks before turning to the spring and stepping into its cold waters. He slowly wadded into the center and turned back to face his family…and the undertaker who stood behind them, watching curiously. The crow then raised the goblet to his lips and tilted it back, letting every last drop slide over his tongue as he attempted not to gag at the taste.

The potion wasn't horrible…but it was incredibly sweet, and unlike anything he had ever tasted before. Once the goblet was empty, he lowered the goblet, his gaze still upturned at the moon, waiting for the effects to take place, and not knowing what to expect. He couldn't take his eyes off the moon, even when he tried. And he suddenly had no sense of time. All there was, was the moon and himself, bathing in that light. The soft glow seemed to be growing, reaching out towards Sebastian, and he thought he could feel it touch his skin, a cold, but welcome touch of formless energy.

Sebastian's skin began to glow, like moonlight reflecting off snow, and even his normally crimson eyes glowed with moonlight. He felt weightless, as if he were floating in the cool air. It was incredibly peaceful and relaxing, making him wonder why he had to stay relaxed throughout the day.

And then, without warning, the burning started. Growing from his center out over his body, angry red glowing lines that looked like the vines from a rose bush spread inside his body and reflected out as if his skin were transparent, showing the mess of illness that was within him, trying to choke out his very life. Nearly every inch of his body showed the tangle of thorns, and proving just how close to death he had been living.

With a pained scream, the prince's legs gave out and he fell, his entire body submerging with a splash, slipping over the ridge that he had been standing on that held him above water, and sinking to the bottom, unmoving.

Claude had thought his worst fear had been that nothing would happen at all, but this hadn't been expected in the slightest. Elijah let out a wail, lurching forward. "Father!" Claude grabbed Elijah's arm in a vice-like grip, yanking him back.

"You can't touch him," he said with wide eyes. "You can't enter the circle while he's glowing."

"Fuck off—no—he'll drown!" This was the first time Elijah had ever properly sworn at his parents. Claude pushed him back, hovering by the edge of the circle.

Let him come up, oh, god, please…please let him live. Claude couldn't see his lover in the dark water apart from a ball of white and red light. He knew when the thorns had lit up inside him, that Sebastian had not had long to live at all. He wouldn't have lasted another two years, not a chance, but would he die now?

A few minutes passed. The light didn't fade, Sebastian didn't rise, and Elijah began making a keening sound, held back in the Undertaker's arms. The boy was praying, _in_ _Gaelic_ , and barely feeling a burn at all. Another minute and Claude was fretting, knowing Sebastian would be out cold. He couldn't risk the spell, but Sebastian was drowning!

It happened suddenly—the light died away completely, and Sebastian was lost in the darkness. Claude jumped in the second it happened.

Undertaker let go of Elijah, and approached the edge of the circle, watching the dark, calm waters, only a small ripple from where Claude had jumped in, searching the bottom of the spring for his lover. His frown tugged further down, even he hadn't expected this result. Of course, unlike demons, reapers needn't breathe, so if Alan fell as Sebastian had, there wasn't a threat of drowning. But if Sebastian had drowned, if he had died…they wouldn't know if this cure was the real thing or not. The demons were his test before sharing it with the medical reapers, he desperately needed Sebastian to survive, at least long enough for them to know if he's been cured…

No, Undertaker had grown fond of the demonic family. And he couldn't tell himself that his worry was simply for the experiment.

Elijah also ran forward, splashing into the water and standing knee-deep in it as he waited, praying still, for Sebastian to be alive…to be alive and cured.

Claude swam down—it was deeper in the centre. What had been chest-deep now went a far way above his head, and he could see little in the darkness. But all was not lost for Sebastian—the vicious red glow inside that was the manifestation of the disease was still glowing faintly. Claude swam down, taking the demon into his arms. Not asleep...dead? Claude's eyes prickled, even in the water. He did the first thing he could think of, pressing his lips to Sebastian's and breathing precious oxygen into his lungs, praying he hadn't swallowed too much water.

Then something else happened, under Claude's gaze. The glowing thorns started to recede. Not in light, but in their spread over his body. Claude watched the vines drew back slowly, waning away, retracting back up to the centre of Sebastian's torso.

Was the disease being destroyed?

Elijah whimpered, "I can't! I can't just watch! What's taking him so long to get daddy?" he splashed forward more with every intention to dive down and help Claude search for Sebastian.

"Elijah, no. Let your father handle this." Undertaker reached out to stop him, only to have his hand swatted away.

"No! I'm tired of not being able to help! Daddy could be dead by now!" he cried, still having a habit of using the childish term of 'daddy' when he was truly upset.

Claude dragged the demon to the surface. There was no time to dilly-dally. He dropped him on the grass beside the spring and started to pump his chest. The red glow was still receding, and Sebastian's ruby eyes were glowing behind his lids as Claude dared to try and resuscitate him. After all, if he died...even though he would regenerate, the cure might have stopped working, and the disease could spread again.

Seeing his fathers both resurface, Elijah hurried over, dropping to his knees next to them and looking worriedly at his royal father, "Wake up…daddy, wake up…" he pleaded.

After a moment of relentless pumping to his chest, a sputtering cough was pushed from Sebastian's lips and the crow weakly rolled over onto his side, gasping for breath and coughing up more water.

Claude gripped Sebastian's shoulders and shook him. "Michaelis," he said in a cracked voice quite unlike his usual tone. "Michaelis, you idiot, you were so damn careless!" he cried, his long hair hanging loose and sopping, "Falling in like that!"

The glow was no longer visible, but had all of the disease truly been destroyed within him?

"You're so hopeless!" Warm tears slid down the spider's cheeks, mixing with the spring water. "Goddamn you."

Sebastian gave a weak smile, "I'm sorry." He reached up to cup his lover's cheek, "But, I'm alive, aren't I..?" he paused, looking between the two demons, "Did it work? Am I cured..?" He couldn't feel if there was a change. His body was tingling and numb, not unlike when he'd taken potions for his attacks. All he knew was that he felt at peace before being burned from the inside-out…and now he lay soaked, coughing up water with the two people he loved the most crying over him.

Claude looked away. "Cured?" he murmured, letting go of Sebastian and sitting back, tossing his glasses aside to push his hair out of his face and wipe his eyes. "I...cannot taste the sickness on your aura anymore," he said, "but...it could be clouded. What sort of thing could trigger an attack in the past?" he asked, dragging his sodden lover into his lap, stroking his handsome cheek.

Elijah draped himself over Sebastian and squeezed him tightly, sobbing childishly.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around their son, relaxing against Claude, "Extreme blood-loss or pain, stress…" he listed, "Emotional-overloads…But all those weren't a for-sure trigger for it.

Claude wasn't keen on trying any of these things. If there were only some substance that would...He looked up at the Undertaker hopefully, wondering he knew the answer. He petted Elijah soothingly.

Undertaker looked down sadly, shaking his head, "The most I can think of would be to repeat the tests that told him he had Fames in the first place. I could run the test for thorns, but there are some differences between the two, and it may not be wholly accurate."

Claude looked up impatiently. "...Run all the tests you need. It is vital that we know," he replied. Elijah sat back, sniffling, and Claude bundled Sebastian up even tighter, with more affection than he'd ever shown in front of Elijah.

The reaper nodded and shrugged out of his heavy overcoat, offering it to Sebastian, "Mine's warmer than that thing you came here with. We can go back to my shop and get you warming by the fire while I run the tests to see if it can pick up any traces of your Demonic Thorns."

Shivering, Sebastian didn't hesitate to borrow the oversized coat, pulling away from his lover just enough to slip it on and lean back against Claude as Undertaker gathered their things and took out his scythe, using it to open a portal back to his shop.

Claude scowled when the Undertaker produced his magnificent scythe from seemingly nowhere. If he'd had that, they wouldn't have had to make the trip all the way out here.

It wasn't what mattered now, though. Claude refused to let go of his lover, carrying him through the portal and back to the shop, through to the crackling fire. "Elijah, go and make tea."

The youth scampered into the kitchen quickly and obediently.

Setting his scythe aside, Undertaker busied himself with searching through a chest for the things he'd need to conduct his test. Once he had everything gathered, he turned to the two demons near the fire and took Sebastian's hand, "I only need a drop of blood for this." He assured them as he pricked his finger with a needle and squeezed out a fairly large drop into a test tube, swaying back to his table.

Elijah returned with the tea for Sebastian, while Claude still hadn't let go of the man. His heart was pounding, and he was sure Sebastian could hear it, but he said nothing. They _had_ to be sure.

Sebastian thanked the boy for the hot tea, and sipped it in silence, waiting for the test to be complete. Wait was all any of the three demons could do, and he hated it.

An hour passed with the mortician working on the test, and then another. The wait reminded the crow of the time when he was young and had began giving his first attacks, having to wait hours to be told that he was dying. Eventually, the wait became too much for him, and Sebastian drifted off to sleep in Claude's arms.

Finally, the test was completed and Undertaker stood up, walking over to the three patient demons, the smallest smile curling his lips as he let Sebastian be aroused before he announced the results: "Now, remember, as this is the test for the reaper strain for Thorns, not for the Demonic counterpart…there is a small room for error, and you may want to get him retested for Fames later on. But for tonight…you can rest easy. The results came back negative for any sign of Thorns."

Claude exhaled slowly, letting himself relax. This wasn't perfect…after all, the symptoms in Thorns and Fames were quite different, but being negative for Thorns meant a 95% chance he was negative of its counterpart. He'd seen the disease receding with his own two eyes...there was a high chance it was gone forever.

Claude closed his eyes then, smiling to himself a little, and simply lay down on the floor and dropped into a deep sleep, sleep that hadn't come to him for weeks. Elijah looked down at him and smiled gently, wrapping his hand around his father's, then smiling up at Sebastian. "Thank God."

Sebastian's heart had leapt when he heard the word 'Negative'. He didn't know the percentage of a difference it was between the two similar illnesses, but…for now, it was good enough. He ran his finger's through his lover's hair as he slept and then reached out to pull Elijah into an embrace, letting his emotions go enough to sob quietly into his son's shoulder. He was cured. He'd be able to stay with his loved ones…he wasn't going to be pulled away from them.

"…You three are welcome to stay the night. I have plenty of comfortable coffins should you choose something a little more comfortable~" Undertaker smiled, turning to clean his mess, "Of course…I suppose you'd rather not choose a coffin for yourself, given the circumstances, Michaelis…" he giggled and tapped his chin in thought, "I hardly use my bed, so I suppose that, too, is available."

"Shh, shh," said the young demon, thinking Claude hadn't chosen the wisest time to fall asleep. He stroked Sebastian's back, kissing his head as the man wept openly. He had been told that demons were so careful with their emotions, and that if Sebastian became overly emotive about something, it was because of his disease. Would that go away now? Would his father become ice-cold? Would he forget how to love?

Elijah looked up at the Undertaker. "Please allow us. My fathers are both terribly exhausted."

"Of course, of course. Help yourselves. I sleep in the coffin in the back room usually, so you can be a good boy and put your fathers to bed. You may even borrow clothes if you wish to, I don't mind." He grinned, turning towards the back room, obviously ignoring the fact that Sebastian had broken down emotionally.

The crow slowly calmed down, pulling back and drying his eyes before looking at Elijah, his face flushed in embarrassment over the shameful display.

Elijah smiled softly at him. "It's okay," he told his father, kissing his cheek. "I won't tell Claude." He helped the man to his feet, leading him down to where he knew the Undertaker's bedroom was. No annoying redheaded reaper in there this time, thankfully.

Sebastian allowed himself to be moved to the bed, and shrugged out of the borrowed coat he still wore, followed by his pants so that he was only in his underwear. "You should help Claude to a more comfortable place as well." He said tiredly, the ritual having taken a lot of energy, "This bed seems big enough for the three of us…I want you two to stay close.

If the test was correct and he was cured…it seemed as if the emotions he had succumbed to and had lived with for so long had stayed with him, leaving him with a longing to keep his family close.

"I know," Elijah said, with an almost reassured smile. He slipped out, lifting Claude and carrying him in too, though the spider demon would have heartily protested to such a gesture had he been awake. Elijah stripped him of most of his sodden clothes, pulling the blankets up over him, then he crawled right up between them, as always.

Comforted by the presence of his family, Sebastian allowed a small smile as he hugged his son to him, drifting off once more into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

To be continued...


	39. Chapter 39

****

Life was quite carefree after the night of Sebastian's cure. Free of Fames, the family of demons worried for little and wanted for nothing. The exception to this was perhaps having their statuses back in Hell, and word had been that the King of Hell had taken pity on them and was pulling some strings that might get said statuses back. With that on the burners, everything had finally calmed down for the Faustus-Michaelis family.

Several months after Sebastian had been cured, the family had headed down to their secret little branch of river for a picnic. Elijah had his little Irishman with him, and the four of them were comfortably relaxing on a picnic blanket, eating a delicious lunch they'd all contributed something to.

Without his illness tugging at his emotions and dragging him deeper and deeper into a more human-like life, Sebastian found he had regained control of himself and his emotions. Though they were still within him. Once he had given in to softer emotions such as love, he found that they would not let him go. However, he was able to hide his emotions better and could live without his heart on his sleeve.

When the crow was out among strangers, he was once again able to keep a cold, almost emotionless and princely demure about himself; showing his true and genuine emotions only to his family. With a smile, he grabbed the bottle from the basket and began to refill each person's glass, "So, have the reaper doctors put their faith in the cure for Thorns that Undertaker had offered them after testing it out on me?" he asked Micah out of simple curiosity.

The Irishman looked up. He'd slowly gotten used to the presence of the two high-status parents of his lover, and they of him. It was clear that Elijah didn't intend to drop Micah so easily. "Oh!" he said suddenly. "Tha's right! I meant t'tell ya. The firs' shinigami they tested it on was Alan Humphries," he said, with a glance at Claude.

"Oh?"

"An' it worked out completely fine! Eric 'n Alan are gettin' married in the spring," he said with his sunniest smile. "And they're actually discoverin' a way to synthesize the cure so it can be mass-produced for shinigami all 'round who need it."

"Well, at least they didn't have to wait two years." Sebastian smirked, though he was glad for it. He couldn't help but feel for the reapers with Thorns…as he was strangely connected to them…and knowing that the lover of the reaper who had stepped aside in his duties in order for Claude to get Ciel's soul to him when he needed it would live too, only added to that small feeling of happiness for the reapers. If anything; Eric and Alan deserved it.

Claude nodded, a tiny smile passing over his face. In turn he reached for a scone, and nibbled gently at it, "Seems like it all worked out good then."

Elijah had eaten an incredible amount of food, and after resting for a short while, turned to his boyfriend. " _Let's go for a swim, love_ ," he said in fluent Gaelic. The redhead brightened up and grinned.

"Surely will," he replied, "Thankee for the food, sirs. It was real nice, it was, an' I'd love to learn the recipe sometime~" Elijah tugged him upwards and they headed arm in arm upstream.

Once Claude had finished his scone, he lay back contentedly.

Laying next to him and looking up at the cloudless blue sky, Sebastian allowed a soft sigh, the sound of the two young men splashing in the river adding to the relaxing sounds around him. He slid his hand over and took Claude's into it, "This…I rather like this life…even if we don't get our statuses back."

Claude nodded. "The word is that we might," he said quietly. "And you know you'd have access to the soul stockpile...even if they're not as nice...they're sustaining..and we wouldn't have to leave each other to serve new masters." Claude arched gently against the grass, stretching comfortably and letting his dark hair curl amongst the stems. "It'd be perfect, wouldn't it..." His head turned to the side, staring over at his partner, handsome as ever. "You and I, and Elijah...whether he stays or goes…"

"I have a feeling he'll be much happier staying here where he can see his little shinigami as often as he likes…" the prince rolled onto his side, facing Claude, "Though, with my status back, I'd have to attend trials and other royal duties, which could get annoyingly frequent…but other than that…it'd be perfect."

"Worth it, perhaps?" Claude murmured contentedly. He rolled over onto Sebastian's chest and gave him a content kiss, stroking his cheek with black-nailed fingers. "Besides...we're unstoppable, you and I."

Sebastian's lips twitched upward a little more, his hands gingerly sliding along his lover's upper arms and shoulders, "There is nothing we can't achieve if we truly wish it." He agreed, his fingertips slipping up his neck and tilting his chin upwards so he could gaze at the spider's handsome face.

Claude's fingers wandered inside Sebastian's shirt, trailing a little webbing over the man's lithe torso. The other hand popped his buttons undone brazenly, and he leaned in to kiss the Cimeries sigil over Sebastian's heart. The wind picked up, a warm breeze rustling their hair.

The crow carefully removed Claude's glasses, laying them atop the picnic basket as he pushed their lips together with a hum of contentment. He then worked open his lover's shirt and pushed it from his shoulders to expose his skin to the warm air, his hands following the blouse down his lover's thin but muscular arms.

Claude gave him a faint smile. "Ah, Malphas...I am so glad that you won my affections…" He licked his neck slowly and deliberately, letting his hair fall loose. The other two men had disappeared around a bend of the river, under cover of the trees, so Claude pushed his partner down against the blanket, deciding that he wanted to make him feel amazing today.

"You sure didn't make it easy for me to do so, at first." Sebastian responded with a small moan, his hands eagerly seeking out his lover's sensitive areas.

There were storm clouds rolling in as Claude pleasured him in the quick, fierce way they knew so well. As the couple brought each other to climax, and relaxed against each other, thunder rolled in the distance and heavy drops of rain starting to fall around them.

"We may want to head back to the house…" the crow hummed, opening his eyes to gaze up at the darkening grey sky.

Claude, once his heated body cooled down, thought the rain was rather warm. Not like the usual English drizzle. "I don't...want to go back yet," he whispered, panting against him. "You could never...stay out in the rain too long, because you risked getting sick, but...now you can..." He bundled Sebastian close to him. "Stay out here with me."

"…I guess I'm still not quite used to the idea that I no longer have to be careful about such things…" Lightning flashed, lighting the world around them a little brighter for a second, and the rain grew heavier, running down the demons faces. Sebastian smiled and brushed Claude's damp hair behind his ear, "And you are rather an attractive sight when soaked."

"So are you," Claude said with a smile, loving the pressure against his chest caused by the rain, and loving the feeling of Sebastian's body against him. He slid Sebastian's hair back off his forehead, and leaned in to give him a kiss. He looked back up at the sky. "It's actually quite humbling, open and exposed to the world like this. To nature."

"And not having to run and hide from it." Sebastian added, "This is how it should be." He tucked an arm under his head and closed his eyes to better appreciate the sensation of the wind and rain upon his nude body. He began to loose himself to his thoughts; thinking about how far he had come…how far he and _Claude_ had come since they had first crossed paths. Oh, how their relationship had grown and blossomed in ways he would have never imagined before when they had literally tried to kill each other…How Claude had done the impossible and not only helped him, but saved him from his own fate…had given him a wonderful son and a life that no demon had ever imagined having with another… He smiled and rolled over with a chuckle, pressing his lips firmly against Claude's once more, "Thank you, Cimeries…" he whispered before turning back to look up at the rain falling down around them.

Claude returned the smile a little, golden eyes staring into ruby, his mind on quite the same wavelength. "It was my pleasure, Malphas." He gave him a loving squeeze and let the deluge torrent down upon them, soaking him and his soul mate right down to their very core.

"It wouldn't be what it is now if we didn't have to fight for it. Hatred into love, broken into whole, transience into eternity. That is what makes Claude and Sebastian, don't you think, love?"

"Completely." His gaze flickered over to Claude's again, another flash of lightning, closer this time, lighting the sky, "Without the hardships we faced together…what kind of relationship would this be? Hollow and unstable, I'd think."

"Let us not think of it," Claude whispered under the rain and thunder. He reached for Sebastian's slender hand, pale and black-tipped like his own, and squeezed it tightly. With the man in his arms, he simply closed his eyes, having never felt more content with the world than right then.

He had to have drifted off at some point, nice and warm thanks to their shared body heat. When his eyes slid open, the rain poured ever still. Sebastian was still by his side of course, though now the beautiful dark-haired boy named Avnas Elijah, and his freckled Irish boyfriend Micah, had curled up with them and had gone to sleep too.

How peaceful.

* * *

  **End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankyou for reading, we hope you enjoyed it!


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